The Mystic Mind
by Kajatk8
Summary: CU - A year after the final act - Kagome's Miko training continues while a new threat pops up - a dark miko planning revenge - curses Kagome who falls through the well further into the past. Will she ever get back to her family? (Post-CANNON) Rated M for content/gore of feudal age and future chapters. Warning rape in chapter 11.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her.

 **Chapter 1. New Beginnings**

It had been a full year since Kagome had been able to come back to the Feudal Era. While she had been happy in Modern Tokyo with her family and friends, she realized after defeating Naraku, she never really belonged there. In fact – she hadn't belonged in the modern era in a long time. What other ninth grader has assisted a village with a plague? Buried a whole village? Watched as their best friend lost themselves in their demon blood and murdered a whole band of bandit's right in front of her? Fought off hordes of demons only armed with a bow and spiritual power? None of her friends even believed in demons, let alone believe that she drifted off to the past during her many "illnesses" during middle school. They'd probably just lock her up for insanity and throw away the key.

So Kagome kept a lid on her secret life and pined for it in the three years she missed. She had been over-joyed to return. She thought her life would always be lived in the shadow of the time spent there, just with the remembrances of her friends and allies. However, when she graduated high school after throwing herself back into school full swing – it was almost as if she were unconsciously aware she would go back. She excelled in history and had taken many extra-curricular activity classes in CPR and medicine. Her friends thought she'd become a doctor, but she always seemed disinterested in continuing her education and college. Little did they know, the only reason she took an interest was to help those in need. It had been the closest she could come to learning to be a miko in the modern world.

But now, she was back, everyday seemed to be a gift. Wanting to get out of the shadow of Kikyo, Kagome was studying the arts of a Shinto Priestess under the watchful eye of Kaede and Jinenji. While purification seemed to come to her without thought, she had never received formal training. But the past year was spent combining her modern day knowledge and that of a traditional Priestess.

"Are you ready to go yet Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. He'd been asking every ten minutes or so while she got ready.

"Just about Inuyasha," Kagome replied while putting the finishing touches on the last of her concoctions. "Kaede won't be able to have me around for the next month or so… I thought I'd just help her with the last few remedies before we go…" Kagome said.

"She will be fine! It's not like she won't have Miroku or Sango around, hell, even Shippo can help with basic remedies." Inuyasha said.

"I know, I know. I just want to be thorough," Kagome said.

"Any more thorough and we'll never leave!" Inuyasha replied. "I still don't know why you think you need to learn Shikigami." He said.

"Because! It's all part of a traditional priestesses studies. Besides, don't you remember how powerful Kikyo's were? Kocho and Asuka protected Kohaku. They could purify and protect areas while she wasn't there. Imagine if I could do that when we go and take care of demons in far off villages. Edo would be protected!" Kagome replied a little too enthusiastically.

"Yeah I remember…" Inuyasha said, his eyes a little glazed over apparently lost in thought. "It's not like we are gone that often," he said.

"I know, I just want to learn all I can," Kagome responded. "Plus, it'll be nice to see them again, don't you think?" Kagome finished up stirring her concoction and placed the cloth around the top of the jar, fastening the lid.

"As long as they don't try to make us into Shikigami again…" Inuyasha said haughtily watching Kagome work.

"Yes, that was a little mortifying, but Botan and Momiji were just confused." Kagome said. Remembering the time when they were both turned into Shikigami was a little humiliating to say the least. At the last second Kagome remembered when she thought she could get the Shikigami Inuyasha to "sit," but it hadn't worked, instead Inuyasha got sat and the Shikigami Inuyasha stepped on him. Kagome started giggling in remembrance.

"Remember when the larger Inuyasha stepped on you?" Kagome giggled.

"It's not something I'd like to repeat," Inuyasha growled. Of course, this just made Kagome laugh even more, and soon she almost fell over in giggles at Inuyasha's glowering countenance.

"Shut up!" Inuyasha growled.

Kagome tried to sober up, but it was a little difficult. Kagome stood and reached over grabbing her packed bag full of what she thought she'd need – full of bandages, a change of miko clothes, water bottles and several ofudas for offerings along the way, a knife for skinning animals and her attempt at making both shampoo and soap. She then shouldered the bag and reached for her bow and quiver of arrows. After placing everything on her back she grabbed the gray jar she'd just finished up.

"It's a good thing I finally learned how to fletch my own arrows, I think that Rekuko-kun may have had a heart attack if I asked him for another twenty so soon." Kagome said thoughtfully.

"Keh, finally you learned something worth learning." Inuyasha grumbled. He still appeared to be mad at Kagome's teasing giggles.

"What are you talking about? Everything I learn is worth learning." Kagome said, reaching over and kissing Inuyasha on the cheek.

Despite having been living together now for a year, each time she showed him affection, he appeared to have just seen her for the first time. This time he didn't disappoint either. He lightly blushed and looked away, looking slightly smug.

"Well, when you learned barriers, that was quite helpful. Helped take care of that moth problem over in Suichi's village." Inuyasha said.

"See? It's all useful." Kagome said smiling and leaving the house. Inuyasha followed her and she looked over the peaceful village of Edo with a watchful eye.

Their small but respectable house was just on the outskirts of town, very close to Miroku and Sango's house, much to Kagome's chagrin. Miroku and Sango's ever growing family tended to be rather loud and boisterous and sometimes took a while to settle down for sleep. In fact even now, though it was still quite early, the sounds of the twins' giggles could be heard along with Miroku's exclaimations and Sango's firm voice booming over them all.

Inuyasha stretched his arms reaching far over his head and then settled his hands mid-shoulder locking them behind his head. "Have you said goodbye to everyone yet?" He asked.

"Yes, we just need to stop by Kaede's before we leave. I just need to give her the ointment." Kagome replied gesturing with the jar she carried.

"Alright," Inuyasha said.

They walked through the outskirts of the village, becoming ever and more populated as they kept going. Edo was growing each and every day. With a highly competent miko around, the village had managed to stave off many cases of plague. And tales of the "White-haired hell-demon" also appeared to have spread, scaring bandits and criminals alike, neither of which had attacked since Inuyasha had been unsealed. As a result the once small village now seemed to be growing at an alarming rate. Kagome wondered slightly apprehensively how much of the growing of Tokyo she would see.

Kagome was only nineteen, not very old at all in her own era, but here it was considered about the time women had already had one if not two children. But still, she wouldn't live forever. She knew this. She also knew of all the evil priestesses and people in the world, and what they did to gain power or try to live longer. It didn't matter, as long as she had Inuyasha with her each day, she didn't mind that they would only share fifty or so years together. She was grateful for each and every one.

As they approached Kaede's familiar hut, Kagome glanced up as a shadow crossed over her, darkening her vision. She met the cool amber eyes of Sesshomaru as he landed in a flourish of white and red just outside of Kaede's hut. Jaken of course, ever present clinging to his pelt dropped off and stared at them in mock imitation of his master.

While it had been many years since Kagome had considered Sesshomaru 'Inuyasha's mean and evil brother,' yet, she always shivered slightly at his large and powerful youki. If anything, in the past four years, since the fall of Naraku and Kagome secretly suspected since embracing his feelings and heart, Sesshomaru's power seemed to increase. He definitely had the strongest aura that Kagome had ever felt. She wondered if it would continue to grow as he grew older, or if it would peak at some point. She also briefly wondered why she'd never felt one like his back in modern Tokyo, but then quickly dismissed the idea. Thinking about five hundred years in the future, when she was likely long dead always depressed her. She tried not to think about the future if she could help it.

"Good Morning Onii-san, here to see Rin-chan?" Kagome smiled brightly.

Sesshomaru blinked and looked at her for a moment, and Kagome briefly thought he wouldn't answer when he finally said, "Yes, I'll be staying close while you both are gone."

"Really? Well, then, all that worrying was for nothing, wasn't it, Inuyasha?" Kagome said elbowing Inuyasha.

"Keh," Inuyasha replied.

"I'll just be a minute," Kagome said ducking into Kaede's hut. "Good Morning Kaede-baa-chan, Rin-chan!"

Kaede and Rin were both sitting around the fire where their breakfast had clearly just been removed and were currently boiling water for tea. Two teacups were in Rin's hands. Rin sat wearing a brilliant purplish blue striped kimono emblazoned with golden butterflies and Kaede sat in her traditional miko outfit – white haori and red hakama.

"Oh Kagome-sama! Good morning! Rin is so happy to see you! Are you leaving?" Rin said brightly, energy always overflowing. "Would you like some tea?"

"No tea thanks. And yes, we're just heading out now. I'm not sure when we'll be back, probably a month, maybe more, maybe less." Kagome replied.

"Ah, did ye finish the last burn ointment child?" Kaede asked.

"Yes, here you go. I hope it's the right consistency…" Kagome said thoughtfully handing over the jar she had been working on earlier.

"I'm sure it will be fine, you're underestimating your abilities again." Kaede said smiling.

"Well you know, this isn't old hat to me like it is for you." Kagome said.

"What's an old hat Kagome-sama?" Rin spoke up.

"Umm…. What I meant was… hrmmm…" Kagome said. She sometimes did or said things that became difficult to explain. For example, during her hunt for the Shikon jewel shards she quickly realized that euphemisms and proverbs that she held dear and used often didn't have the same meanings and had to quickly rephrase. "It means that Kaede is used to doing things like making burn ointment and because she is used to it, it is easy for her to do. But, it's not easy for me to do because I've only been doing it for a year." She explained.

"But where's the hat?" Rin said thoughtfully.

"Ummm… it's just an expression Rin-chan – another from my time. Sorry… Old hat means you're wiser and have been studying for longer than a new hat." Kagome said frowning.

"So Rin is a new hat?" Rin said.

Kagome laughed at the image that popped into her head. "Er… yeah, I guess you could say that." Kagome said smiling.

Kaede smiled at their exchange and then said "Good luck child, it's very draining to learn Shikigami. But have no fear, Botan and Momiji's Shrine is famous for their Shikigami arts. I'm sure you will have it down in no time."

"I hope so, I was hoping to experiment with Shikigami that I could leave in the village while we are gone traveling." Kagome said.

"Ahh, that is a wise idea. However, it requires a lot of spiritual power. Not that ye are lacking in that respect. I believe you have far surpassed my sister in power. Now all ye need is control." Kaede said smiling.

"Right. Well I'm off. Take care Kaede-baa-chan, Rin-chan." Kagome said smiling and turning around to leave. However, before she could Rin jumped in front of her and grabbed her into a strong hug. Kagome returned the hug fiercely, thinking of her own mother briefly before she left each time for the feudal era. "I'll be back Rin-chan, don't worry."

"Rin knows you will Kagome-sama, but Rin thinks you'll be gone longer than you think you will." Rin said ominously pulling away from Kagome and looking into her eyes knowingly.

"I promise I'll return okay, Rin-chan?" Kagome said and briefly patted her head.

The ominous look quickly passed out of Rin's eyes as her head was patted and she shook her head and smiled. "You can't break promises." Rin said firmly.

"Nope, you can't, so see? I'll be back," Kagome said. Kagome continued walking out of the hut and re-adjusted the quiver on her right shoulder. She hadn't liked the dark look that had come over Rin and briefly wondered at it. She'd never seen the girl who was so full of life look so darkly before. It had almost appeared like something had possessed her when she spoke. Kagome shrugged and resettled the quiver looking out at the two brothers.

It appeared that they had been in some type of conversation, but when Kagome came out, both brothers stopped talking and looked at her curiously.

"Ready now Kagome?" Inuyasha said.

"Yes, let's get going." Kagome said. Looking at Sesshomaru she said, "Take care Onii-san. See you soon." And as an afterthought she added, "Bye Jaken! Be good!"

"As if I need to be told what to do from a human!" Jaken said vehemently.

"Hnn." Sesshomaru responded.

Kagome and Inuyasha started walking out of the village, heading East out to the shrine that Kagome would soon be reuniting with both Momiji and Botan. She thought of all the training that faced her and all the hard work she'd have to put into the coming month. She was a bit apprehensive about leaving Edo, but she'd never felt like this before. It felt as if something bad was going to happen and briefly she wondered if what Rin said was true.

When searching for the Shikon Jewel shards they'd come and gone so often, she felt like Kaede's house was a revolving hotel. Yet, this time as they climbed the last hill before Edo would then fall out of sight, she paused and turned to look at it. She briefly looked to the torii gate leading to the steps of the shrine and even at this distance; the white form of Sesshomaru could be seen with a smaller greenish brown blob next to him and a brightly colored purple-clad child bouncing around him.

"Did you ask Sesshomaru to hang around while we were gone?" Kagome asked while finally turning away and continuing up the path.

"No. I didn't even tell him we were leaving. I expect Rin did though, you know how she goes on." Inuyasha replied.

"Yeah," Kagome said. "What were you talking about when I was inside?"

"He told me about a dark miko he'd heard about." Inuyasha said.

"Oh? Like Tsubaki? What's happened?" Kagome asked.

"Well, apparently there was a village that Sesshomaru usually purchased items from for Rin, but the last time he went there, there was a barrier. But instead of keeping out demons and bad spirits, it called them to the town," Inuyasha said.

"Well…?" Kagome waited feeling like she missed something.

"The whole village was gone, the villagers were all eaten or burned, and it was pretty gruesome from what he said." Inuyasha said.

"That's terrible!" Kagome said outraged.

"Yeah, apparently it's the third one he's heard about." Inuyasha said.

"What? We have to stop this!" Kagome said. "Wait… why do you think it's a dark miko?"

"More rumors, there's a dark miko working with two other demons. Neither of them are powerful on their own but, somehow with the miko, they've become a triumvirate of power to be reckoned with." Inuyasha replied.

"This is awful. So Sesshomaru thought our village would be next?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, apparently. You know he'd do anything to protect Rin." Inuyasha said.

"Yeah, well, I'm glad he'll be there," Kagome said.

Inuyasha became silent as they walked down the path. Kagome's brain was spinning. Was this why she felt so apprehensive leaving? Somehow she was slightly aware of this dark miko? She doubted it. She'd never displayed any precognitive abilities before. Yet, still… what Rin said ate at her about being gone longer than she meant to be. She tried to put it out of her mind and focus on the good. Her village was perfectly fine for now. All her loved ones were healthy and happy. With Sesshomaru, Sango, Miroku and heck, even Jaken there, she doubted any youkai or miko would stand up to them for very long.

 **A/N:** Well there you have it. First chapter done! As always, let me know what you'd like in the reviews, and I don't care, give me bad, good or indifferent comments! =)

 **Edit: 08.14.2016 - Fixed grammatical and spelling errors.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. This story is for fun, and no profits are made from it.

 **Chapter 2. White Kitsune**

After a week of being on the road Kagome and Inuyasha were a little tired and worn down. They had come across another village that had been decimated by forces unknown, but Kagome had her sneaking suspicions. She had found several ofudas on trees surrounding the village. When she had tried to remove them, she'd felt as if she had stuck her hands in a pile of mud, except the mud oozed darkness and evil. It had taken a lot out of her physically and mentally to finally purify and remove all the off-putting ofudas.

She and Inuyasha had found themselves in a very unique position – that of being cast as undertakers. It wasn't the first time she had had to offer last rites to a village, and she doubted it would be the last. However, this time, she just thought how needless the whole thing was. Naraku wasn't around anymore. Whoever had done this, whoever was targeting the villages was evil. No doubt about it. Yet, it seemed to be an evil just for evil's sake. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to it.

Kagome had spent the last day finishing up all fifty-two graves. It had been difficult for her, particularly when she went inside the few homes that were standing and found smaller children and babes, slain while still at their mother's breast. It had been exhausting to bury the families. She tried to lump together the bodies in what she assumed were family units, but so many of the men were buried on their own. They had been in a group of bodies with no weapons to speak of except their scythes and hoes grasped tightly in their weathered hands. It appeared that the men had tried to make a last stand, despite being armed only with farming equipment.

"I always think this will get easier, you know? But if anything, I feel like it's harder. I can still remember all of their faces," Kagome said looking out over the piles of fresh graves surrounding her. She had purified fifty-two rocks and placed one above the head of each grave, in hopes of settling the spirits. Feeling that this wasn't enough, she had gathered fresh flowers and was now laying them over the stones as an offering of peace.

"I know," Inuyasha said, and pulled her into a tight embrace. Kagome felt the strength of his arms as he held her, and succumbed to the tears that had been at the corners of her vision all day. She knew that while they were working if she had started to cry, she wouldn't have been able to stop. But now that she had laid the last of the offerings, she let lose all her emotions that had bottled up.

"It's okay," Inuyasha said as he rubbed her back, soothing her while she cried. They stood like that for a long while as they felt the sun start to sink, growing into the late afternoon. They needed to head out and find a place to camp before night fell that wouldn't feel so very – evil. Despite removing the off-putting ofudas the darkness seemed to have sunk into this village. The soil seemed to have swallowed up the spell, and it spoke of holding a grudge for years to come.

Kagome started hiccupping eventually calming herself down and withdrawing from Inuyasha. She knew that she was not mentally or physically strong enough to stay overnight in such an evil place. In fact, she was sure she wouldn't survive the night if she did.

She looked over all the graves they had spent the past two days working on and closed her eyes one last time, offering her prayers to the departed souls. Walking over she grabbed the few belongings that she had, shouldering her bag, quiver and bow. Turning to Inuyasha she said, "Alright, I'm ready, let's go."

He turned in front of her and got down so she could hop on. She grasped him tightly, perhaps a little stronger than she had meant to and he let out a gruff "Oof."

She whispered her apology as he launched himself high over the tops of the remaining village houses back out towards the path. He followed the path for what seemed like hours before finally setting her down so they could make camp. The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the night was rapidly approaching them in the twilight dusk.

"How many more days do you think it will take us to get to the shrine?" Kagome asked.

"We should be there by tomorrow, maybe midday?" Inuyasha replied.

Kagome was thankful for that. She didn't know if she could handle seeing another village or burying another villager. Feeling drained she stretched and her back cracked where it had grown stiff from digging graves. Right now she just wanted to soak in a nice hot bath, get a foot rub, eat her Mom's home cooking and fall into her nice clean bed.

If only.

It had been over a year since she'd been in the modern era. Kagome had found that she was unwilling to test the well again, not after she had had to wait three years to come back. She didn't want to take a chance she would be stuck in the modern era again, away from her friends—and now family. When she left, her mother had known that she might not come back, and she had said goodbyes to all of her family. She suspected they were both happy to see her go and saddened by it, just as she had been. She sometimes found that it was easy to not notice the passage of time, but after days like today, she found that she was quite homesick.

"No chance for a bath is there?" Kagome found herself asking hopefully.

"Yes, actually, there's an onsen not too far from here, it's why I kept us going for so long. I thought we'd both need a bath." Inuyasha replied.

Kagome smiled brightly at him and asked him to lead the way. "You know me too well."

After their soak, Kagome felt immensely better. The waters had worked wonders on her sore back and straining muscles. She had wandered off to find kindling and some logs for the fire they would need for dinner and to keep warm. They still had some traveling rations left, but Inuyasha had left to see what he could hunt. She hoped he brought something back, already tired of the dried meat and vegetables that she had packed.

All at once Kagome stood up and spun around, the hairs on her neck standing straight up. She glanced around; sure that someone had been looking at her out of the shadows. Dropping the pile of wood in her hands she unhooked her bow from her shoulder and notched an arrow. She had yet to pull the string back, but instead sent her reiki out testing the air. She shivered as she pushed herself in her weakened state, but held firm. There was danger, and she knew it.

There, she found it. She recognized the youki as that of a fox, having spent so much time with Shippo—it would be difficult to fool her. Plus, after a year in this age she had not been idle, pride filling her with confidence, now she could accurately address who it was. "Come out kitsune, I know you are there," she said coolly while pulling back on the bowstring.

Appearing as if by magic out of the shadow stepped a large red fox, with a white face it staggered its way over to her. Despite being about the size of a horse, it walked delicately and it had blue flames that flared each time it took a step, yet nothing was singed as it walked. It was brilliant in the darkness; the white almost seemed to shine out of its face as if it were reflecting the moon back at her. Her eyes widened as she saw that the fox was in fact pure white, and the red color was blood matted fur. It promptly fell over and whimpered.

Without thoughts as to what had harmed the animal might still be around and could harm her; or even that it was just a trick of fox magic and in fact meant her harm, Kagome jumped into action. She dropped the arrow and bow where she stood. She ran over to her backpack carelessly sitting next to a tree and threw it open grabbing for bandages. Then she flew back over to the fox and triaged the patient, eyes flashing back in remembrance of her medical classes.

Blood was freely flowing from what seemed to be the body of the animal itself, so she gently swept fur away and tried to look for the wound. She soon found it, a mass of slashes right across its throat and down its back. Pressing the bandages she had in hand into the wounds as best as she could, while she simultaneously applied pressure, she tried to remember placements of veins in the fetal pigs she'd dissected in biology classes.

She also tried to remember the color of the blood, if it was the right color as to be arterial blood or not. She thought not, as the youkai was still moving around, but then quickly dismissed the idea. How often had Inuyasha seemed to be dying because he took a sword, hand or spike through the body? Clearly youkai could survive from worse wounds than humans could, but still… she didn't like how much blood the fox had lost.

"You're going to be okay, stay with me." Kagome found herself repeating. She didn't know when she had started speaking to the fox, but she found now that the whimpering had lessened under her hands. She wasn't sure if it was because it was being reassured or if it was getting weaker. She dropped her head to listen to its breathing; she squeaked and jumped back when its eyes popped open showing her the cool blue eyes staring at her from a sea of red. She was reminded of both Inuyasha's and Sesshomaru's true forms – both demons displayed the same eye color.

"It has been so long hime, I had thought never to see you again," the fox hoarsely said. If Kagome hadn't still been quite close to his head, despite jumping back, she was sure she wouldn't have heard it.

"Try not to speak; you've lost a lot of blood. I'm doing all that I can, you're in good hands," Kagome spoke firmly and rapidly, she had an authority in her voice that spoke of having seen worse wounds and patients survive them. It surprised her, this strength. She'd felt weak all day, but now she felt like she could take on the world.

 _Adrenaline_ , her mind numbly supplied her. You'll feel it _later_ , don't worry! A voice in her head said rapidly.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me hime, I'm just glad to have found you again after so long," the fox continued speaking despite the warning against it. Still just as hoarse as the first time, Kagome found herself moving closer to the fox's mouth.

Numbly, (the adrenaline also told her) – "you better hope this isn't a trap! You don't know this youkai but he thinks you do!"

"I am not a hime, I am a miko. I am Kagome, a healer. Do not be afraid." Kagome said while continuing to hold pressure to the wound. She realized that there was what looked like spikes embedded deeply in the fox's fur, and she wondered if she should take them out yet or not.

"I coul' ne'er be 'fraid of ooo himeee," the fox said, words becoming slurred.

"Damnit, stay with me!" Kagome barked. Finally deciding that the wounds that she had applied pressure onto were fine on their own and she could handle the spikes. She reached over with her right hand to pull one out. Instantly her hand was burned and she pulled back with a shriek.

"Eh-ooohhhhwwww!"

She looked at her right hand and several fingers bubbled and oozed, appearing to have picked up something gooey and black from the spike. It was dark, demonic and evil—jyaki, the likes of which she hadn't felt since Naraku. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt the ooze speaking to her baser instincts. It whispered sweet nothings and called her forth asking her to plunge her fingers into the fox's wounds, make them worse and truly claim his soul.

Immediately disgusted by these foreign thoughts she called forth her reiki and purified her fingers. It felt like they were covered in molasses. Yet slowly, whatever it was that covered them didn't outlast the onslaught of her purity.

Calling forth that reiki again she reached with both hands to rip the spikes out of the poor fox. If it was feeling even an ounce of what she had felt ever so briefly before she purified it—she couldn't let it suffer. She wondered how it could have walked at all. The power that briefly blew through her mind had been so dark, and spoke of things so evil as if they were a sweet lover come home. Being as careful as possible she focused as much as she could into purifying the spikes. She attempted to pull them out, each one by one. There were three of them, purifying them enough to touch before slowly easing them out of the fox, careful not to purify him as she did so.

The fox whimpered when all three of the spikes were finally out of it. Then it shivered and spoke in a deep voice that echoed and thrummed with power. "Thank you hime, you have saved me, yet again. It seems I will always be in your debt. But now, I can properly thank you, for I didn't have the power then as I do now. Know this, Amaterasu smiles on you, though you do not know it. You shall live."

At that the fox rose, fanning out its tails like a giant peacock, and Kagome counted – nine. It shook its fur of the blood and kissed Kagome, blowing what felt like foxfire down and into her lungs. Too surprised to even register what had happened Kagome sat there stunned. The fox broke from the kiss and looked at Kagome's surprised expression and whispered " _Eternal_." Kagome felt the magic clamp down on her, and the crackle of youki that surrounded her like a barrier being forced her down her throat and made her succumb to its power. It felt like she was being ripped apart, her lungs burned and her fingers tingled. She wanted to scream, but found she had no voice with which to do it. Finally she felt that whatever the barrier was, it finally made its way into her lungs and both of the magicks mingled.

As quick as it came, the pain stopped. She blinked several times, breathing deeply. Looking around she realized that the fox had run off in a blaze of fox fire while she had been struggling with the spell. Despite not knowing how, she felt more than saw, that she was still being watched.

She took in the scene around her. The ground was caked with blood, there were bloody bandages everywhere and to the right of her were the spikes she'd removed.

The spikes!

Each one of them seemed to thrum with that same dark and evil energy and she wanted to fling them far away from her. She resisted the urge, because she wanted to examine the magic that she felt there. For at first it appeared that the spikes were from an oni or an insect youkai, but now she knew better. These may have originated from a demon, but the magicks worked into them spoke of a dark miko. Perhaps the same dark miko that had razed the village she had passed through earlier that day.

Kagome put her hand to her head intensely angry – then immediately trying to soothe the ache that wanted to take her over as the adrenaline slipped away. As she brushed her hand through her hair and ran across what felt like a leaf. Curious, she brought the leaf out of her hair and up to her face. It was one of the leaves a fox would scribe a spell into. She had seen Shippo do it many times, whenever he transformed. The white fox must have left it with her, perhaps when she was being kissed or writhing around from whatever spell he had cast upon her.

Briefly she thought about that. She had just been kissed! By a fox, no less! She touched her lips surprised when she felt the same cackle of power there. It didn't hurt, but it sure let itself be known to her. She changed hands, moving the leaf to her right and her left hand brushing lightly on her lips. She found the crackle had lessened.

That was how Inuyasha found her, looking puzzled, blood covering the white of her haori – from what he didn't know, her bow and a single arrow several feet away from her, with three spines next to her, seeping out jyaki. She rounded out the image by holding a leaf in one hand and her fingertips barely touching her lips with the other and an amused look upon her face.

"Kagome! What the hell happened?" Inuyasha fumed, eyes sweeping over the clearing while dropping what looked to be a large bird that he had been carrying. Apparently he found no threats and ran to Kagome's side.

He took in the look of exhaustion that seemed to come off of her in waves and pulled her close into a hug. "I'll get everything ready for dinner. You just tell me what happened while I was gone." His voice said, reassuring her.

Kagome nodded, not sure of herself at the moment or how she should begin. She felt all of a sudden very tired and close to passing out. The purification, the graves, the digging, the burning of the spikes into her fingers, the barrier – it all seemed to crash into her and leave her breathless.

Inuyasha rolled her sleeping bag out for her and picked her up. He set her in it and then glimpsed down at her bloodied countenance.

"Seems a shame now that we took that bath earlier doesn't it?" He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Kagome smiled and nodded again. She looked down at herself and realized what he meant; she was covered from head to toe in blood. She had also held a death grip on the leaf and had no plan to release it anytime soon. She didn't want to put it down.

"That's an odd thought," her brain supplied. But not that odd… she supposed. This was the feudal era. Who knows what kind of power the fox had imbued in this leaf and then left in her possession…?

"I'll just change," Kagome said. Her voice seemed far away as she spoke. She briefly wondered if she was in shock or not. She dimly realized she wasn't acting the right way or responding in ways that she should.

Shrugging out of her miko garb she pulled her second set of robes out of her bag in silence. As she slipped on her under kimono followed by her hakama and finally her haori, she slipped the leaf into her pocket. She would examine it further in the morning, and perhaps ask Shippo what it meant the next time she saw him. She also thought about how she would explain everything that had happened to Inuyasha in a way where he wouldn't fly off of the handle.

As she sat back leaning against a tree sitting on her sleeping bag, she watched as Inuyasha made quick work of getting a fire going, and his hands had started to pluck the bird of its feathers. She thought she would grab the best feathers for fletching arrows and he seemed to notice her interest and nodded. She smiled and while watching his deft hands work at the task, she explained all that had happened while he was gone.

"So you just helped him and then he kissed you and disappeared?" Inuyasha said curtly. His demeanor had darkened as she explained the part about the kiss.

"Yes, he kept calling me a hime, and he seemed to think we'd met before. But I've never met him before. Have you met a nine-tailed white fox before?" Kagome asked.

Inuyasha pulled back and seemed to think things over before he spoke again. "Are you sure he was white? Not cream, brown, grey, red…? He was really and truly white?"

"Yes, he seemed to be as bright as the moon. His fur almost glowed," Kagome replied.

"I've never seen one, but I've heard stories. I always thought they were legends." Inuyasha said.

"Legends of what?" Kagome said.

"Legends of the White Kitsune, specifically the Nine-tailed White Kitsune." He said.

"What are the legends about?" Kagome's voice quivered, she couldn't help but worry over what kind of spell the kitsune had cast on her.

"Usually of a challenge that leads to a riddle for a trick and a wish. All kitsune are mischievous, just look at Shippo. But the White Kitsune has a special type of magic. It's a healing kitsune – very rare. It is said that if you answer its riddle correctly, a Nine-tailed White Kitsune will supply you with its most treasured possession." Inuyasha said.

"But I never answered a riddle…" Kagome said frowning thoughtfully. "What would be its most treasured possession?"

"Well that's where the stories differ. Some say beauty, wealth, good life, happiness, you know…but… Many of them say that a healing kitsune can grant eternal life." Inuyasha said.

At that Kagome gasped. "You don't think?" She touched her lips again and just like before, she felt the crackle of power. It felt as if the power were trying to speak with her, and it was attempting to say 'yes.'

"Nah, it's just a story." Inuyasha said firmly. He smiled, handing her a leg of bird as he did. During the telling of the story he had finished plucking the bird and had spitted and cooked it. After taking a few tastes, he had deemed it cooked enough for Kagome's standards.

She smiled and said thanks, taking the meat and enjoying the leg. It had been a rough day, and she had yet to go to sleep. She looked up at the few stars she could see through the canopy of trees and became lost in thought. What is the most treasured possession?

What's mine?

At that she looked over Inuyasha and smiled, she knew without a doubt what hers was, and she had found him, despite all the odds.

He seemed to feel her gaze and looked up and met it. He smiled a knowing smile that they had shared since she came back for good.

"I'll use those ofudas Miroku sent us with and place them around the camp so we can both sleep tonight." Inuyasha said.

"Really?" Kagome said, her heart beating slightly faster. It would be just the peak of luxury if they could both sleep tonight, without one of them having to keep watch.

"Yeah, we both need the rest." He said.

As Inuyasha rose and reached into her bag, grabbing the ofudas and placing them in a circle around the camp and fire, Kagome reached into her pocket with her right hand. She withdrew the leaf she had kept close to her heart and examined it in the light of the flames.

"Do not fret hime, we shall meet again." Kagome read the words written on the leaf almost as if they had been singed into it with fox fire. Hrmm… they probably had been, her mind supplied. She looked closer at the leaf and touched her fingers to where the writing was. There were little divots in the leaf where each character was, and she felt it crackle with that now familiar sense of power.

Flipping the leaf over in her hands Kagome almost gasped when she realized the back had a message as well. "Soon" was all it said. She re-pocketed the leaf and became lost in thought. She looked down at her hand and realized that she hadn't been as quick as she thought at purifying whatever residue was on those spikes. Her hand was covered in blisters and boils. When it healed it would leave an angry scar. Inwardly she cursed herself for not bringing any of that burn ointment she had been working on for Kaede with her.

Kagome felt like she wouldn't be able to sleep that night, because of everything whirling around in her mind and the pain in her hand. But, as Inuyasha came to lie down next to her and he pulled her to him, she relaxed. Before she knew it, she was curling into his warmth and felt his support. Without even noticing, she reached into her pocket and grabbed the leaf, her right hand easing away from the pain, she drifted off to an easy sleep.

 **A/N:** I know, I know. I spelled magicks like that . But that's okay. I just wanted to make up my own spelling. Somewhere I read once that the more successful authors made up at least twelve words of their own in their books. Think about it…

Please let me know what you think. I'd love comments, even if they are little. For example, I don't believe the dialogue or I'd like to see the story progress quicker, etc. All reviews are appreciated.

I am still looking for a beta-reader for this story. If interested please PM me.

Thanks!

 **Edit: 08.14.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. This story is for fun, and no profits are made from it.

 **Chapter 3. Leaves and Shikigami**

Kagome rolled over and grumbled as the morning light hit her eyes. She so didn't want to wake up today. She hadn't wanted to face the day, in fact any day, since coming to the Harmony Shrine. Each and every day was the same, get up early, when first light broke; eat, work hard, eat again, work even harder, attempt Shikigami, get drained, and then fall asleep and repeat. Sometimes if she was lucky, there was a bath in there somewhere, but mostly it was just the hard work.

With eyes still closed she snuggled back into the covers with thoughts of drifting back off to sleep. Instead she reached over and felt a cool futon. No warm body beside her, and there hadn't been for some time, she frowned. Where had Inuyasha gone so early?

Kagome reached up and ran her hand through her hair, blinking open her eyes, she looked at her hand in wonder at the tattoo she found there. It had been five weeks since she awoke the morning after being kissed by the fox to find that a tattoo of falling green leaves had replaced the burns she'd received. Overnight her flesh had re-knit itself, and the leaf she had unconsciously held all night had worked its magicks into a beautiful tattoo of falling green leaves. The leaves traveled from her fingers up her hands and forearm, and ended just at the top of her right shoulder. Hundreds of leaves decorated her skin, appearing to be caught in a flurry of wind up her arm, but fewer and fewer ascended her body. Only a single leaf had found its way to right on top of her shoulder. Sometimes she thought that if a large wind were to pick up, she could feel the leaves dancing on her arm in the breeze.

She and Inuyasha had been rather startled when it happened, but when nothing bad had come from it; Kagome put it out of her mind. Inuyasha however, overprotective as ever, was sure it meant that she would be in the white-kitsune's debt for the rest of her life. He had used the Shrines vast library to study up on kitsune legends and tales in order to find the white-kitsune. He loved popping up at random times and telling her of the stories he had found. Once even going so far as to say that the fox would appear one day and demand the life of Kagome's first born. While Kagome had been a little off put at first, now, Inuyasha's wild stories had just succeeded in annoying her.

While it had been a vast change to her body, in truth, Kagome liked the leaves. They were the same leaves that trickster youkai like Hachi and Shippo used to imbue illusionary spells. Yet, she felt a calmness about herself when she was alone and glancing at them – she never felt tricked. Her arm seemed to thrum with the faint power that seemed familiar to her when she'd met the fox. She briefly thought of the white-kitsunes last words to her scribed on the leaf: 'Do not fret hime, we shall meet again…Soon,' as she stretched and sat up in her futon.

Kagome decided that she would rather get up than be chastised for still laying around in bed when Botan came to retrieve her. She started to dress and put foxes firmly out of her mind.

Yesterday's training had left her feeling especially worn down, and she felt as if she hadn't slept at all. Since she was an apprentice at the shrine, she received a new set of clothing. A white hakama and haori, similar to Momiji's and Botan's, the only difference being that she wore a dark green tunic whereas they wore a red and blue one respectively. She reached down for her light green obi, stifling a yawn. As she finished tying it Botan smacked open the shoji screen door, already completely dressed and in a cheery mood.

Kagome smiled at her, she couldn't help it. Her shrine sisters were always in a good mood, and if that didn't make her smile, then it was their ridiculous antics.

"Good morning! Ready to start the day, Kagome-san?" Botan said.

"Hai," Kagome said.

Kagome followed Botan to the kitchen to begin the day and prep the morning meals.

"Where is Momiji this morning?" Kagome asked noticing the absence of her sister priestess in red.

"She and Inuyasha got into an argument over who was a better fisherman. They've gone out to compete." Botan said.

Kagome chuckled. She truly doubted that Momiji could catch more fish than the wily hanyo, but loved that she would try. Momiji seemed more stubborn than Inuyasha at times and had quickly developed a rapport with him. They became immersed in many varying competitions over the month she'd spent here, and she doubted that this fishing competition would be the last. She thought back to the last and probably most ludicrous competition they had had – who could do laundry better. Well at least all her clothes and the _entire_ Shrine's linens had been laundered. In retrospect, maybe their competitions weren't all bad. At least this way they'd be well stocked with fish.

After breakfast both Botan and Kagome headed outside. Botan grabbed her bo staff and threw Kagome her own.

"Prepare yourself," Botan said.

Kagome went into her ready stance, and at Botan's call she ran through all her kata and stances with the staff. Her feet settled into a fighting stance almost by themselves, and Kagome concentrated on the pneumonics she had made up to remember her forms.

As she fell into the easy rhythm of movements she thought back to her first day when she realized she'd have to learn to defend herself with a bo staff. Momiji and Botan had been more than happy to teach her the arts of Shikigami, but Kagome didn't realize that meant she'd become an apprentice at the shrine – which meant she'd be forced to learn all that a Harmony Shrine maiden was forced to know. While she'd thought that it involved making barriers, medicinal remedies and eventually Shikigami, she had been forced to learn the hard way that there was so much more to being a miko. She'd been thrown into birthing chambers in the local village, aided in an outbreak of influenza, re-broken a leg that had healed improperly, exorcised demons in the same home she'd broken a leg in, and been forced to learn to defend herself with the bo staff.

Kagome was impressed to learn that Botan and Momiji were masters with the staff. She never would have suspected that based on their prior interactions, but had quickly learned in this era – they were the teachers. She had acquiesced to her position of apprentice easily enough.

"Stop," Botan called bringing Kagome out of her musings.

"You aren't protecting left. A _gain._ " Botan continued.

Kagome groaned. She'd had this problem ever since picking up the bo staff. Something about always being a righty and using the bow for years had made her weaker in her left arm. She had then transferred this fault to her practice with the staff, a fact which the sisters hadn't failed to comment on at once.

"Again, from the beginning," Botan said.

Kagome started the kata over again, working through her the movements and paying extra attention to her left. She kept her stance wide, contrary to her sense of balance, and realized the difference.

"There, you see?" Botan explained. "When you widen your stance, your left falls perfectly into place."

"It's difficult. I know in my head what I need to do, but my body keeps refusing." Kagome replied.

"It happens to all of us, just don't lose focus, and keep concentrating." Botan replied. "Now, let us spar."

Kagome faced Botan and both the girls bowed to each other. Kagome's feet settled in a fighting stance with her staff poised behind her at the "ready" position. Her eyes flowing over Botan's stance, determined today to beat her first move before it contacted and left Kagome with yet another bruise.

In the blink of an eye Kagome cried out "owwwwww!" She hadn't even seen Botan switch her weight off her back leg, or seen her move her arms, let alone seen the bo staff fly. But all of a sudden she felt the hot pain radiating down her arm.

"No fair, you always do that." Kagome said rubbing her arm in a grimace.

"Don't worry; you'll get there sooner or later." Botan said smiling, settling back into a ready stance.

"Much later…" Kagome muttered under her breath.

After that they quickly dropped the conversation and eclipsed into a nice sparring session. Not for the first time Kagome thought ill thoughts of her mother for not forcing her into a martial art when she was younger – like so many of her friends. Maybe if she'd had practice growing up, she wouldn't feel so helpless now.

Her muscles sang, and she welcomed the relief her body felt, easily flowing into the practiced movements. She allowed her body to respond and attack all on its own, finding peace there. She attacked when she saw an opening, but mostly Kagome let her muscles do the work. She grimaced as once again Kagome fell prey to Botan's famous right feint, feeling the double smack to her shin (and pride), at and realizing her mistake too late. She swallowed and prepared herself again, calming herself, she flowed again into what she called her "fighting brain" where everything was either an action or reaction.

After what felt like a little longer than Kagome was comfortable with, Botan called it quits.

"Okay, let's break for lunch," Botan said.

Kagome was thrilled. Panting and wiping sweat from her brow she appraised her many new injuries. Her arm was still throbbing from the first blow, and a few separate thwacks to her left shin were pretty bad, but altogether she wasn't in horrible shape. She couldn't wait for lunch, and a break.

She dropped back into her ready stance in front of Botan and the girls bowed to each other.

"How is it you always get me with that combination?" Kagome said rubbing the lingering pain from her arms and shin.

"I don't know, how come you always leave your left open?" Botan replied.

"Touché" Kagome said.

"What?" Botan said, looking confused at the foreign word.

"Nothing, I just don't realize I leave it open." Kagome sighed.

She thought that Inuyasha and Momiji would have been back by now, apparently they had left before the sun rose, and it was already well past midday. She wondered if they were still safe and competing for the title of best fisherman. Then again, Kagome was happy that Inuyasha hadn't been around for her morning bruising session. He tended to call out to her, which, while trying to be helpful in his own right, typically just distracted her.

Kagome slid the door open and walked back to the kitchen beginning to prepare their meal. Botan followed her after placing their staffs in their place near the door.

"You have improved you know," Botan said conversationally.

"Really? Was it the bruises or me falling onto my backside repeatedly that made you say that?" Kagome said.

"Ha, it was the fact that you've been doing better at blocking and taking control of bad situations. You almost got me twice today." Botan said as she watched Kagome work.

"You're just saying that." Kagome said offhandedly stirring the rice that she'd placed over the fire and cutting up some vegetables.

"No I'm not; you're really doing well Kagome. Of course, your bow is still where you shine, but, you could still hold your own against a demon with a staff." Botan said firmly.

The overwhelming compliments made her blush. Botan wasn't too generous with them, and usually just said she'd never seen a worse off apprentice. Momiji was a little nicer in that respect, but she'd also never sung her praises with a staff. Both were extremely impressed with the caliber of power she exuded when using sacred arrows. But they also continued to remind her that a bow was a long range weapon. If she needed to protect herself one on one, the staff was the better option.

Kagome hadn't really known what to expect coming to live with true priestesses. She had learned that Momiji and Botan were both in fact sisters. While they were still very young, they guessed four summers or so, they had been left at the shrine because they both displayed spiritual power. They barely remembered their parents or their small farming village; instead held their deceased master in esteem the same you would a father. They were exactly what one would expect after twenty straight years of training with a staff – experts. One would also think they'd be specialists at Shikigami as well – yet they were not. Apparently what Kaede had said was true – it was a very tricky and draining magick to learn.

Both Momiji and Botan had shown Kagome the basics of Shikigami, and on her second day she had been able to make the same paper doll that the sisters had used to steal the Inu-taichi's hair. The sisters were floored with her progress and had started her on more difficult tasks within the week. Since they had both been formally trained, they were excellent in giving lessons, but many of the techniques they lectured about – they could not show her. Neither was particularly gifted with Shikigami, but their Master had been. After he had passed on, they both continued their studies, but it became clear to Kagome that they would never master that particular skill.

'Ahh well,' Kagome thought 'at least they are complete masters with a bo staff.'

"So are we going to continue with animal forms today?" Kagome asked as she finished chopping the vegetables and placed them into the pan she had swapped the rice with on the fire. Grabbing a wooden spoon she started dishing out rice into two bowls.

"Actually, today I think that we will move onto human forms." Botan said while taking the bowls to the table in the dining room and sitting down on a cushion.

Kagome smiled and nodded but she felt nervous. Animal forms had come naturally to her, almost with the same ease as a sacred arrow. She didn't even have to think and she had an animal guardian. She had been extremely proud of herself after her first attempt at making herself an otter. Both the sisters had given her praise and commended her on her first amazing animal Shikigami. She thought briefly about the Harry Potter books, how the Patronus' took the forms of animals, and how similar it felt creating an animal to protect her from big scary demons. She had smiled at that thought and how ridiculous it would sound attempting to explain Harry Potter to anyone of this era.

But, still, now she was wary. Human shaped Shikigami required a lot more reiki energy. They required a lot more concentration as well. If your mind wandered in the least bit, you might end up with a too tall human, or a person with no shins, eyes, or eyebrows. Humans were far trickier, and just the littlest thing out of place could make the illusion fail. She had read up on all of the material about human formed Shikigami, and inwardly cursed Kikyo. It appeared that she would forever be in the shadow of the dead priestess. When Kikyo had been dying from a fatal wound by Naraku, she had still managed to create two very strong Shikigami to bring the Inu-taichi to her. Kagome shook her head to keep the bad thoughts at bay.

Kagome removed the vegetables from their simmer on the fire and doled out two helpings in another two plates, joining Botan at the table.

"What if I can't do it?" Kagome said quietly while setting the vegetables on the table. She cast her eyes down in shame, dreading Botan's answer.

Botan paused in raising her chopsticks to her lips and sighed. "Kagome, you are a natural with Shikigami, don't fret."

Kagome lifted her head, staring at her rice blankly, and hoped that she was right. She didn't like to think about the downfall of many miko with Shikigami. She moved her vegetables around on her plate and lost herself to her thoughts once more.

She had learned in her first week after arriving at the Harmony Shrine that many apprentice mikos and priests just outright died. Perplexed she asked if they died because they were killed by a demon or failed at a seal. She had been extremely surprised to find that it was during training, and while making Shikigami no less. Apparently it was very common for an inexperienced miko or priest to put too much of their reiki into a human-shaped Shikigami. In essence they emptied their soul and placed it into a separate vessel. The sisters had explained to her that no one was meant to live without their soul, and one would die who had had their soul ripped from them in such a manner. That was one of the reasons why there weren't many people at the Harmony Shrine; many didn't bother to learn such a dangerous craft.

Kagome had thought about that. She had remembered how Inuyasha had looked at her when the sisters explained that to her. His eyes glazed over and he had a far off look, which happened whenever he thought of Kikyo. Kagome remembered back when Urasue had ripped Kagome's soul out of her body and placed it into Kikyo when she had first been resurrected. According to the sisters Kagome should be dead. It is not natural and against the Kami's wishes to have ones soul displaced from their body. No ones soul is meant to withstand that much torment. She realized how dangerous it had been then and there when she'd come to the feudal era. When Kikyo had been resurrected, she'd barely been in the feudal era a month when it had happened, yet it seemed so long ago to her now.

"Are you scared?" Botan asked breaking her cold inner musings.

Kagome blanched – should she speak the truth or lie?

"Yes," Kagome replied. She'd never lie to Botan, especially about something so important.

"I was too, when I first started." Botan said quietly.

"You were?" Kagome said.

"Yes, I'd heard the horror stories, the same as you. But I had my sister there to help me through it." She said.

Kagome thought about that. She did have friends to help her though it, and she had Inuyasha, if he'd ever come back with Momiji.

"Look Kagome," Botan started, Kagome looked up and removed the chopsticks from tapping a rhythm against her lips. "You are much stronger than any priestess I've ever met. I am stunned by your power every day. You're far stronger than all the recorded priestesses at our shrine. You display an affinity with Shikigami, of which I've never before seen. You'll do fine. You will not _die_."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you Botan."

She wasn't sure if Botan really thought that way, or she was just trying to make her feel better. She suspected the latter, but gathered herself in spite of it. She was strong. She had stood up to how many youkai in her day? She was a modern day teenager thrown into the Sengoku Jidai. She had defeated Naraku for Kami's sake. She shouldn't fear her training! She suspected that it wasn't her lack of accomplishments that frightened her, but rather all that she had gained in this time that she didn't want to lose. She had friends, a family, and Inuyasha. She had a place where she _belonged_ in the world. She didn't want to lose any of it, least of all while training herself to be a miko.

After lunch she found herself in the Shrine's courtyard, where they practiced Shikigami arts. She took a deep breath and swallowed, preparing herself. She could do this.

She thought of a human form, of all the parts, careful to not miss anything. 'Eyes, nose, throat, knees, toes, even finger nails, don't forget anything Kagome,' a quiet voice deep within supplied her.

She summoned her reiki around her and placed it into the piece of paper she had scribed with her spell in hand. This felt familiar to her, and safe. Imbuing an object with her spirit, she could do this. She closed her eyes, and knew that her fingers were glowing with her pink aura of reiki.

Botan watched curiously as Kagome concentrated. Kagome felt confident that Botan had given her all the advice her own master had given her. Now it was up to her to put that advice into action.

Kagome finished imbuing the paper with her reiki, working the spell into the scribe and released it. She opened her eyes and watched as the paper transformed itself into a man. Kagome gasped and nearly fell over in shock.

There in front of her stood a man she never thought she'd see ever again. He had blondish-red hair, bright green eyes, and a kind smile. He smiled at her with it as she looked upon him. He was wearing the same long sleeved dark green shirt he'd been wearing that faithful day, along with the black pants. His boots were also black, and there was a black belt to accompany them. Kagome's heart did a backflip and she thought she'd break from the sheer emotion she held within herself.

"Daddy?" She asked. After she spoke, darkness overtook her and she welcomed it with open arms.

* * *

Botan critically looked at her Shikigami. It was perhaps the best first attempt at a humanoid form that she'd ever seen. Her only criticism was that it had been dressed in very strange clothes. She'd just been about to compliment Kagome on her efforts when she'd spoken. Daddy? Had this been Kagome's father?

Kagome had never spoken about her parents in the whole time she'd been at the Shrine. It was almost as if all of her past, before Tsubaki, and later Botan had learned Naraku had become a threat – were a secret. Botan had never understood why it was such a secret. Kagome lived now with Inuyasha in Edo, this she knew. But before that, she knew nothing. If this is what Kagome's father had looked like… Did that mean that Kagome was a foreigner? He appeared strange, garbed in odd clothing, and with features almost reminiscent of a youkai with that odd hair color and those foreign eyes.

As Botan had been scrutinizing the Shikigami she heard what could best be described as a thump. Botan shifted her gaze and jumped into action. Kagome had fallen down. A dark thought shivered up Botan's spine, was Kagome dead? Running to her side she placed her hand against her mouth and felt a breath against it. She listened to her heart just to reassure herself. Kagome was indeed alive.

Botan sighed in relief. Despite her earlier warnings, Botan had seen other apprentices make their first Shikigami and then fall over dead. Unknowingly apprentices would completely drain themselves of their entire life force. Botan had been so sure that Kagome wouldn't face the same fate with how strong the girl had always appeared, but when she had fallen, all hope had left her. Now it came back to her with a vengeance.

Kagome just hadn't controlled herself and had placed more of her reiki than she had intended into the Shikigami. As a result she'd overtaxed herself. Botan smiled as she'd remembered her first Shikigami.

It had been a little cut out of a humanoid form, reminiscent of a paper doll, it had meant to be small and unnoticed. Yet, the small creation had drained her of her power for more than a week. Kagome had almost untapped power in that respect. Botan had watched her make animal Shikigami after animal, as if it were as natural as breathing. While the girl said it drained her, she had never collapsed like Botan had after her first attempt. Instead, she'd taken requests and even made animals that Botan had never seen before. One in particular that Botan had enjoyed was extremely tall and yellow with large oddly shaped dark brown spots. Kagome had called it a "giraffe," and said it came from a foreign land called "Africa."

Botan had come to learn that Kagome was not only a gifted miko, more gifted than she had ever seen, she was also very knowledgeable. She'd been able to stop an outbreak of "sickness" in the nearby village with just a small amount of boiled water and alcohol. She'd seen her repair a leg by re-breaking it, and seen her stitch up and repair wounds that Botan herself had thought hopeless. She'd even seen her deliver twins, which was extremely dangerous. Most of the time, both babes did not live. Yet Botan had seen Kagome breathe life into the stillborn babe, only to have it scream after fervent rubbing and blowing into its mouth. If she hadn't known better, Botan would have thought Kagome was a witch.

Botan had never ceased to be amazed by Kagome. Even now as the miko was slumped to the ground, unconscious, she was impressed. Kagome had successfully made a humanoid Shikigami, and it was not a paper doll. It didn't even resemble paper. It was bright, colorful and full of life – it had been so recognizable and familiar to her, she herself had called it father. By far the most impressive thing she had accomplished was that she was still alive after this feat.

Botan rallied and looked upon the Shikigami once more. "Your creator has fainted, return her to her room to rest," Botan said.

The Shikigami gave her a serious look, then walked over to the prone girl and lifted her into his arms. He followed Botan to Kagome's room and placed her onto her futon. He then sat near Kagome's feet protecting her even in sleep.

'Even while unconscious, Kagome still has the power to protect herself.' Botan mused. She smiled closing the shoji screen door and left Kagome to rest.

* * *

In a tree overlooking the Shrine's courtyard a crow rose into flight. It had been watching the miko known as Kagome apprentice at the Harmony Shrine for weeks now. It had been waiting upon orders from its master to watch until she made a humanoid Shikigami.

As the crow rose beating its wings, it surveyed the land that it was soaring past. A river snaked its way along a path below, flowing into a forest and then out the other side. The crow followed this river past two humanoid forms both garbed in red with a load of fish in each of their hands and kept on flying. The crow flew ever eastwards following the winding river. It pumped its wings up and down in a slow harmony and rode air currents soaring purposefully. As the sun began to sink, the sky turned a faint red, pink, orange and purple with the sunset, and the crow continued its flight. As the sun was finally lost below the horizon a large castle anchored atop a hill next to the sea came into view. The crow flew to the tallest tower in the castle, landing with a flourish in the open window.

"Caw" it shrieked. "Caw caw caawwww."

A door opened and a figure came in shrouded in dark grey. Its head was hooded, but dark yellow eyes were visible shining out. "So it has started," three voices answered in unison coming from the shrouded figure.

"Caw caw," the crow replied. Pecking at the window sill, it flew to land on the figures right shoulder and stretched its tired wings upwards while reaching its right leg behind itself.

"We shall leave tonight," the three voices intoned.

The crow appeared to comprehend its master and nodded screeching again, raising its wings over its head in a defensive manner.

The figure left the room and began running down the tower steps. It ran to a room filled with dark energy and malevolence. Human skulls lined the walls along with many different tapestries of young women facing off against hundreds of youkai. If one looked closely it could be said that the young women depicted seemed to resemble one another. In each tapestry the women were pictured surrounded by leaves, and there was a fox near her heels. Sometimes the fox was replaced with a great white inu youkai that helped face off against the army, but in others she was alone with the fox at her heels. In each picture she looked determined, armed with a different weapon. Sometimes a bo staff in hand, other times with a sword, but more often than not a bow in hand with a set of arrows at her back.

The figure flew around the room, oblivious of the art lining the walls or the evil atmosphere and filled its bag with trinkets. The crow continued to watch closely from the figures shoulder. In one hand the figure clutched a jar filled with a single ebony hair. The other hand flitted about the room, filling the bag with items – bright green leaves, a potion, a vial of something that exuded an evil jyaki, a feather, a scroll and a bowl.

Finally, the figure looked around the room and nodded. It grabbed a katana and threaded it into its obi hidden under the cloak. The figure quit the room, grabbing a quiver of arrows and an ornately carved black bow. Snapping the shoji door shut, it hurried through the halls of the castle. Outside it descended the steps down to the only road that led away from the castle. The only noise made was the hurrying footsteps and the final "caw" that came from the crow still atop the figures shoulder. Never once did the figure look back as it pressed on – westward.

 **A/N:** I decided to call Momiji's and Botan's shrine the Harmony Shrine because their ofuda has an image of the symbol of yin-yang on it.

All reviews are appreciated.

I am still looking for a beta-reader for this story. If interested please PM me.

Thanks!

 **Edit: 08.15.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters therein belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. This story is for fun, and no profits are made from it.

Sorry for the bit of time between the last update. What else can I say but that it was Christmas and New Years? I work jewelry retail – and it was CRAZY at Christmas time. I get all these MIP – which means Men in Panic to all of those people not in the retail or jewelry communities. Meaning – these men come in and ask "Hey, what do women like?" To which I obviously say "well sir that depends on the women, but I've found that many like jewelry." "Right, well what kind of jewelry does my woman like?" "Well sir, I don't know your woman at all – what does she usually wear…?" "Well I don't know that either." "Hrmmm. How long have you been together?" "Oh about 16 years." "Riiiiight. Well – the 16 year anniversary stone is Peridot – it is a lovely green color – from deep dark greens to almost an almost lime. Would you like to follow me? Right this way…" You'd be flipping surprised how many men came to me on Christmas Eve with that exact request. My oh my. Men sure don't know their women…

Anyway, sorry for the long pause. Hopefully I'll be back to updating bi-monthly again. =) enjoy.

 **Chapter 4. Arrows as Darkness Approaches**

Sesshomaru awoke in a familiar place, that in and of itself was a rather uncommon feat. He had always been a wanderer; Sesshomaru had been young and hasty when his father's domain fell. He hadn't cared. If he wanted to amass a domain, he would do it on his own. He needn't take handouts from his father. Especially with a father who had disgraced his mother and taken a ningen to bed, and had subsequently fathered a hanyou. No. He didn't need handouts from his father at all. So Sesshomaru's life for the last two hundred years or so had been that of a nomad. He sought power in any form, any and every battle was a chance to prove himself and gain power. Supreme conquest, that was his path. He still recalled his last conversation with his father.

Touga had been bleeding, and on the verge of death from his battle with Ryukotsusei. If ever there was a chance to challenge his father and take his swords in mortal combat – this was it. Yet, Sesshomaru found he couldn't do it. He listened to his fathers' last words. "Have you someone to protect?" He'd said. Sesshomaru knew his father expected more than just words. It wasn't just a question of honor. It was a question of if he had more than just power in mind. But in his younger days, power had been all he'd thought about.

Now – he knew the weight of the question his father had asked. Sesshomaru regretted his response – that he had no need of such. He wished he could have answered differently. That yes, he did have someone to protect. It had only taken him two hundred plus odd years, the loss of an arm, and the loss of a precious silent smile for him to realize that yes – he did have someone to protect.

In fact, he'd found watching his brother, that having a single person to protect actually strengthened a demon. How many times had he thought that a battle was going in his favor, only to have Inuyasha come out the victor because he had someone to protect? Sesshomaru had lost count. But, he learned. It had only cost him a near death experience to truly show him that the world had more to offer than the path to supreme conquest.

And here he was years later, waking up under a tree. If his brother could see him now, well he wouldn't hear the end of his banter.

Sesshomaru had fallen asleep under the Goshinboku. He'd been patrolling constantly since Kagome and Inuyasha had left. This time his patrol lasted for a week straight and he'd come back to ensure that his ward was safe before taking a leisurely stroll under the stars. He'd found himself standing under Goshinboku, and gazing out at the cosmos. He'd contemplated much while listening to the silent village, and the lively forest.

Despite what many people said, when it became dark, not everything went to sleep. In fact, just as many animals – if not more came out at night. The sky was alive with insects. The bats were alive at night swooping in and out reaching with their mighty wingspans and mouths agape catching insect after insect. The raccoons came out to search for waylaid food near human settlements and to fish for frogs and crabs in the aqueducts surrounding the fields. Bears, wolves, foxes and monkeys come out at night – to hunt for small rodents or other types of prey. Sometimes just to socialize. Birds of prey come out to swoop down and grab smaller mammals like rodents, voles, badgers, mice and the occasional fox.

Sesshomaru had found himself listening to this wonderful orchestra of nature with a harmonious cacophony of insect calls. He eventually sat down, watching clouds pass him by. He hadn't realized that he had become so comfortable that he'd closed his eyes. But judging by the light of the rising sun, he'd fallen to sleep very soon after sitting.

Sesshomaru sighed. He'd had many lofty ideas about last night. He'd wanted to patrol during the night – while animals were awake but humans weren't. He'd become a permanent fixture around Edo, and the people of Edo had welcomed him thanks to Rin. She'd spouted tales of his greatness and kindness, and many of the villagers had witnessed his power during the downfall of Naraku. With each telling; stories of his greatness and power increased to the point that many thought him an Inu-gami. A dog-god sent by Amaterasu herself to guard the precious people of Edo, just like Inuyasha had for the past few years.

He'd been a little perplexed and put out to find that it was _his_ association with Inuyasha that had granted him esteem in the village, but he hadn't said a word. As the years passed, the people had accepted him. He'd been there to protect them from several youkai attacks, and even a single outfit of bandits that had come to wreak havoc while Kagome and Inuyasha had been away.

But it had been many years since he'd left Rin with Kaede. In the interim, Sesshomaru had found his life devoid of… well, life. He'd found more often than not he missed her cheery attitude, her winning smile that could light up her entire face and voice. During the hunt for Naraku, Rin's voice had ofttimes driven him mad, causing Sesshomaru to leave her and Jaken alone for many nights. However, now he found that he missed her shrewd comments and inane questions. Since Kagome had defeated Naraku, Sesshomaru rarely missed a week outside of Rin's presence.

Sesshomaru was still a nomad. Don't misunderstand; he still traveled all of Japan whenever he felt the urge. However, since he'd nearly lost Rin in the Meido, Sesshomaru truly understood what his father had asked him. Did he have someone to protect? Why yes, yes he did. The persons he protected would have baffled his former self. A girl of but twelve summers living amongst hundreds of ningens. Why, he even considered all of his half-brothers companions worthy of his protection as well. He'd protected them many times during their hunt for Naraku, but after his demise, it seemed dishonorable to perform less than he had while they had been allies seeking out a common goal.

Well – maybe he wouldn't have been so baffled in his youth. After all – she'd always been with him, and she was human. She'd been marked by gods, but she'd still been human.

Sesshomaru put a hand to his head and squeezed his temples. He hadn't thought of _her_ in years. The fox-marked hime. He wondered why that errant thought had come to him? Kagome had reminded him of her on several occasions, but he'd assumed it was because she was also a priestess. Not all priestesses were the same, and he'd soon realized that she wasn't _her_. He'd figured it out in the crypt of his father. She would have recognized him if it had been _her_. Instead she'd challenged him, pointed Tetsusaiga and said "Stay away, I'll cut you to pieces."

His head ached at the memory, of how angry he had been when he realized it wasn't her. How he'd lashed out at the only person to get in his way. Wait…Why was he thinking of her again? All of this introspection wasn't good he'd firmly decided.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Ohayou!" Rin said running up the hill.

Sesshomaru was still sitting under Goshinboku and looked mildly perplexed. He glanced up at his rapidly approaching ward. She was still wearing her purple kimono with golden butterflies, and she held a small short-bow over her right shoulder and a quiver of arrows over her left. Her face was flushed pink from the exertion of running up the hill, her side ponytail was bouncing in the small breeze. Yet, her face was also alight with a huge smile.

He spotted Kaede following at a much more muted pace up the hill. As usual Kaede was garbed in the miko dress of a white haori and red hakama. She appeared slower today than the last time he had seen her, less than a week past.

Somedays he marveled at Rin, just for being Rin. She was such a small thing when they'd first met. She had grown somewhat in the intervening years, but she still remained small and petite. And her smile still made him feel – what? He wasn't sure. He felt the urge to do things. He wasn't sure what, but he certainly couldn't deny her. In an effort to get rid of this feeling – he had purchased her gifts and this urge had lessened somewhat. Rin never asked for anything either. Her needs were so simple, and after four years in her company, he knew exactly what she required this morning.

"Good Morning, Rin." Sesshomaru replied.

Rin beamed at him as if he had fulfilled her wildest fantasy.

"Did you stay outside all night, under the Goshinboku, Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin inquired.

"Hnn." Sesshomaru replied. Of course he had, and she knew it too. Sometimes he wondered why she had begun to ask questions that she already knew the answers to. But he had been told by the both Kagome and Kaede that it was a phase, and it would eventually pass.

"Kagome-sama says you shouldn't stay outside all night without any protection from the elements. She says you'll catch a rhino-viruuusss" Rin pronounced carefully.

Sesshomaru sighed. Rin had developed the most ridiculous attachment to the miko that he could ever expect. He wasn't sure why either. Sure, he'd seen Kagome in battle, and it had been her final arrow that had taken out Naraku. This he had deemed completely respectable. In fact, he'd held the miko known as Kagome in a high esteem, ever since he'd first seen her and she'd survived all he'd thrown at her. She had a protective streak in her and would jump in to save her comrades without a thought to her own wellbeing. While many would think this stupid, Sesshomaru thought it extremely honorable and brave. Yet, he'd never thought Kagome's sagely wisdom would so enamor his ward.

"And what exactly is a rhino-viruuusss?" Sesshomaru asked raising an eyebrow significantly in her direction.

"A cold," Rin said happily, and then abruptly broke out into a fit of giggles.

"Hmm." Sesshomaru intoned. He didn't see what was so funny to cause Rin to break into hysterics but at that moment Kaede had just reached the summit of the hill and bid Sesshomaru good morning.

"Ohayo Sesshomaru-sama." Kaede panted out, face far more flushed than Rin's, and resting heavily on her bow.

He nodded in her direction.

"Rin-chan, shouldn't you be practicing?" Kaede intoned.

"Haiiiiii!" Rin replied, running off to a set of trees a few paces away where Kagome had constructed an archery range. She had attached what she called "bullseyes" to several trees, evenly spaced at ten paces from each other.

Rin then unshouldered her short-bow and quiver and set to the task of placing her arrows in the ground front of her making a little fence, for ease of rapid fire. She left a few in her quiver as well, and then resolutely started working through the course of targets.

Kaede sat down near Sesshomaru and watched her ward prep her arrows and begin the rounds.

"Keep your arm up child, don't drop it – _Ever_!" Kaede intoned.

Rin looked over slightly ashamed and red in the face, but swiftly recovered and said "Haiii Kaede-sama."

Kaede and Sesshomaru sat in peaceable silence watching Rin as she practiced.

"She gets better every day." Kaede said.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but continued to watch his ward. He had the appearance of being completely aloof, but in actuality he was listening intently to Kaede. All the while he watched his ward string arrow after arrow and let them lose at invisible enemies.

"Kagome-sama thinks that she will make a fine miko one day and will be able to take over after I am gone." Kaede intoned.

At this Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows and glimpsed at the aged miko. He was perplexed with the ease at which Kaede spoke of her inevitable death. In his experience human's feared death, how many of them had he sent there? Each one had either screamed war cries or pleaded with him not to end their sorry existence. Yet, never had he heard anyone talk about it with such finality. Except his father. His father knew when he made that last journey to Izayoi, he wouldn't be returning alive…

Rin had been in a state of worry over her new guardian for a few months now. Apparently Kagome had been sure that Kaede had something called "cancer" and it was always fatal in this time. There were treatments in her era, but nothing that was successful, even with her "advanced healthcare" as she called it. There was definitely nothing that she could bring with her through the well.

Indeed, Sesshomaru had noticed that Kaede had been getting weaker and been losing weight over the last few months. She had always been a larger woman, yet, now she looked hollowed out, and there was a sickness that lingered in her scent. However, he chose to ignore this and instead replied to her comment.

"She's displayed no spiritual power, no reiki to speak of." Sesshomaru said in his deep baritone.

"That is of little consequence." Kaede replied. "At her age, I had very little power either, yet I became the sole priestess of this village. Kagome-sama herself said that she displayed no spiritual powers either, until she was fifteen summers. With the way Rin has been training, she could be the same."

"Hnn." Sesshomaru replied. He wasn't sure what to think. He'd left Rin under the old priestesses care because she'd asked for her. After nearly losing her in the underworld, Sesshomaru realized how much she meant to him. He realized that he did in fact love her. In that moment, he'd known he would have to keep her safe in the future. When asked, Sesshomaru couldn't think of a safer place for Rin, than the village of his brother and all of his companions. Yet, he'd never thought she would become an apprentice priestess.

He wasn't sure how he felt about her wielding her bow against his own kind. He knew she'd never wield it against him, but still. Kagome, Miroku and Kaede were exceptions to the rule, almost all the priests and priestesses that Sesshomaru had met had attempted to exorcise him first and ask questions later.

As he thought of priests and priestesses his eyes darkened, and his expression took on a scowl. Ungai hadn't been the only judgmental priest he'd run into in his day. He'd met plenty. However, almost none of them were equal in power to Inuyasha's companions. All would rather purify him first, ask questions later. Not that any of them had been successful. He'd never killed any of them, well, except for the dark priestess Kuriko. But she'd been the exception. She'd been pure evil, and threatened him and his to protect, one too many times.

He shook his head to clear the dark thoughts that his memories had stirred.

The more rational part of his mind supplied him with the facts. If Rin were a priestess, she would be respected. She would attain a status that an orphan of her caliber never would. She wouldn't be feared, or ostracized with her association with demons; she in fact would be a welcome member of society. She would be able to protect herself from demons who wanted to hurt him. She might not be kidnapped so easily, or hurt ever again.

On the other hand, she would also never know love. He wasn't sure why that thought come to him, but he wondered that if Rin became a priestess, if she would ever truly be happy. All Rin had ever wanted was to stay by his side, forever. How often had he heard her admit as much? She'd made up too many songs to count – all with varying lyrics on how she'd remain by his side forever.

Nonetheless, she wasn't by his side now, another voice argued. Who says she can't find love as a priestess anyways? Look at the only two priestesses you've known! Kagome and the fox-marked hime, both have known love, haven't they?

Sesshomaru grumbled incoherently, it was too early for such deep questions. Why was his mind so prepared to remember _her_ anyways? He hadn't thought of the hime in years, and yet, that was the second time this morning that he'd thought of her. He shook his head to clear it, yet from an outsiders perspective he appeared to have just turned his head, slightly.

"She may do as she pleases," Sesshomaru finally spoke.

Kaede looked at him and nodded.

The conversation over with, both turned to watch Rin finish nocking her final set of arrows.

Rin had indeed improved. With an entire adopted family of warriors, and Kaede to guide her, she had become an expert archer in only a few years. When Kagome had returned, she had improved at an even more alarming rate. Sesshomaru was highly impressed with her, but Kagome just brushed it off and said she was just trying to emulate her. That she had decided that Kagome was worthy of "hero worship" just like Sesshomaru was. She'd even insisted that Rin would grow out of it, and then latch onto the next thing in her life. But Kagome had only really known Rin a few months at that point. She hadn't known her like Sesshomaru did. When Rin decided on something – it was for good. Rin had wanted to learn to become an archer; so she had.

If anything Rin's "hero-worship" of both himself and Kagome had only increased. Sesshomaru found Rin listening to Kagome's every word, and emulating her speech patterns as well. A new phrase he had recently heard from Rin's lips were "Did you know Sesshomaru-sama that…" or "Sesshomaru-sama it's a widely known fact that …" And each time she would spout off some random tidbit, Sesshomaru knew they all came from Kagome and her futuristic knowledge.

Many things that Kagome would say were very inane proverbs or simply preposterous facts. He didn't believe that even in this supposed future that Kagome came from – that such things would be common knowledge. Yet, when he voiced these opinions or rather Rin voiced them to Kagome, she would produce a book proving otherwise.

That had perhaps been one of the very first items to sway Sesshomaru and make him truly believe Kagome's wide knowledge. The complexity and divine construction of a book. Surely something of such craft and skill could only be created in a futuristic world. That and the fact that Kagome had them in her possession, and could read and comprehend them. In this day and age only the aristocracy or the priests had access to education and reading materials. Furthermore, these were only scrolls and hand-brushed bamboo scrolls at that. Yet, Kagome's books – those appeared precise, and he had learned, were not in fact handwritten anymore – but made by machines. A type of mechanics that humans had created to make their lives easier, they could do anything from cook a meal to write a poem.

Rin had finally finished with her quiver and began the arduous task of extricating her arrows from the hay-filled bullseyes and recovering those that had missed their targets. Once all the arrows were back in her quiver she shouldered her bow and ran over to her two guardians with her arms outwards from her body in the imitation of a lark.

"Now what Kaede-sama?" Rin said, beaming with pride at her aim and accuracy.

"How about a moving target?" Kaede said.

Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows at her and then tilted his head towards Rin. She seemed surprised as well.

Kaede pulled out a piece of paper that she folded and then prayed over with a strange hand gesture. The paper briefly glowed a bright blue, then took to the skies in the form of a large white bird.

"Try to strike it down child. Stand where ye normally would and as it moves, give it chase." Kaede said.

"Haiii!" Rin looked ecstatic at the prospect of a challenge.

Rin ran over to the invisible line that symbolized the beginning of the archery range and aimed at the imitation bird. However, just as she loosed her arrow, a breeze blew from the east and the bird delicately rode the wind, rising up. It was only a slight movement, but her arrow flew wide and missed her target.

Rin growled, and nocked another arrow. This time she took more careful aim and waited for the paper-bird to move with the wind. Again she loosed her arrow. And again, she went wide.

"Try to read the wind, feel it on your face and then let loose," Kaede said as Rin's last shot missed her target by less than two feet.

Kaede and Sesshomaru watched on as Rin kept at it, soon the paper-bird was swooping in and out of the targets, and Rin was running in between and ducking trees, bushes and rocks, side-rolling and shooting arrow after arrow at the shikigami-made paper bird.

"Sesshhooooooumaru-sama!" Jaken screeched coming into sight, dropping out of a cloud and descending rapidly atop A-Un.

At Jaken's cry, Rin lost her focus and looked towards Jaken unknowingly also bringing her bow arm towards him as well. Without appearing to have any conscious thought in the matter Rin squeaked, "Master Jaken! Good morninnng!" And unknowingly to Jaken, she released her nocked arrow.

"Ahhhrrrggh!" Jaken intoned as he ducked an arrow that whizzed past his right arm.

A-Un also let loose a cry, but Sesshomaru knew it was one of greeting. He knew that no single arrow from a child was a danger to the great demon. A-Un was a centuries old two-headed dragon, and could brave anything his master put him up to.

As A-Un landed in the clearing before Kaede and Sesshomaru, Jaken jumped down and began yelling at Rin. "Stupid girl! Are you trying to kill me!?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Master Jaken. You surprised me is all! But, I am so glad to see you! You've been gone for ages!" Rin said while throwing her arms around him and hugging him fiercely. While this had been cute many years ago, when Rin was only slightly taller than Jaken, now, she was several feet taller and could pick him up and twirl him around if she wanted to. Of course, without having seen him in several weeks, in her giddiness and greeting, she did so.

"Ohhh-ohh- _OH_ -oh-OH!" Jaken intoned as he was spun around and around by Rin.

"Put me down Rin! You foolish girl!" Jaken yelled his eyes glazing over and spinning in his head.

Rin just giggled and set him down smiling all the while. She then bound over to greet A-Un, who happily cooed to her and almost knocked her over with joy as both his heads rubbed their noses all over her hair.

"What news do you bring?" Sesshomaru said.

He had always been mildly amused by Rin's and Jaken's personal relationship when she was younger. Yet, as she had aged, Rin had decided that Jaken was akin to a doll and meant to be spun and hugged and sometimes even carried around with her.

Sesshomaru never reprimanded Rin, because he just couldn't bring himself to harm such a child filled with sunshine and happiness. He especially could not harm her when she had known such cruelty in her life before coming into his. In any event, Jaken never ceased to get on his nerves, and he was always mollified when he found Jaken getting just as annoyed by someone else as Sesshomaru was annoyed by him.

"It is worse than we feared my lord, two more villages in the east have been destroyed and there is talk of a darkness on the road from the East headed in this direction." Jaken replied in a low bow.

"Which villages?" Sesshomaru asked.

Jaken rose, paled and answered "Shio Mashu and Moe."

Sesshomaru growled inwardly Shio Mashu had a prominent miko and apprentice and Moe had a Buddhist temple with a school in which to train monks. If both fell to this supposed "darkness" then whatever foe it was, was far greater than he had originally thought.

"What of the Kuma Tribe?" Sesshomaru said.

"They have scattered to the wind my lord. Those that remained in the village were only the too old and the young. None who could help aid us." Jaken replied while trembling – likely in fear from bringing his lord bad news.

"Hnnn." Sesshomaru said.

"That is unfortunate. It appears that we are on our own in this venture. Perhaps it is time to call Kagome-sama and Inuyasha back home?" Kaede said.

Sesshomaru stood and walked away without saying a word to Kaede. Jaken spluttered and ran off to join him. Rin looked towards Kaede, and after receiving a nod from the elderly priestess she ran after Jaken and Sesshomaru as well with A-Un's reins in hand shouting "Wait for me!" Kaede remained sitting atop the hill and sighed at the retreating backs of four bodies.

Sesshomaru had been counting on the Kuma tribe. The bears had suffered greatly at the hands of this unknown darkness. They had lost three villages under their protection, and several of their strongest warriors. He had hoped they could ally themselves and then finally defeat whatever this darkness was together. Yet, his envoy of peace hadn't been received; instead, the entire tribe had fled. Jaken hadn't been able to make any headway, and he brought more bad news with him, two more villages gone.

Before Naraku, Sesshomaru may have reveled in this fact; he was responsible for many human deaths. But, no more.

He had found the importance of human life.

He'd rallied against true evil, lost an arm, found something to protect and even gained his own power and said arm back. He knew emotions and what they brought, he knew love and kindness and he knew the difference between true evil and good. He was no longer indifferent as he had been for so many years. So many years since her, the hime. Again, his mind supplied him with thoughts of her apparently from nowhere.

He hadn't thought of her in years, and now, no more than three times in a single morning? Something must be reminding him of her. The circumstances were similar, granted. He had remembered the moth, but it couldn't be the same demon could it? No, he had vanquished that demon. It had been his first victory against a Daiyoukai such as himself. He had made a name for himself with that singular defeat. He'd never forget his first great daiyoukai kill. Even if it had been in defense of _that_ village, and _that_ hime, he grumbled.

His heart still ached. He rubbed his head. Perhaps he hadn't slept well enough, that's why he kept thinking of her. It wasn't that he felt her presence, for he didn't. Not at all. Did he?

His heart thumped painfully in his chest, and he glanced down. He'd felt the longing through the years, but it had been a very long time since he'd acknowledged it for what it was. That he in fact – _missed_ her. And he had missed her for many years. He'd been stupid, careless and reckless in his youth. Perhaps worst of all he'd been emotional – and she'd seen it. But…that had been before he'd developed a mask to hide most of his true feelings from the world.

He paid no mind to these thoughts roaming around inside his head, and aloud he started to devise tactics with Jaken. He sent him away to inform the monk and taijiya. They would need to be ready to defend the village if the time came. Yet, unconsciously, his mind continued to spin out of control. He felt a thrill run through him at the prospect of seeing her again. He had dimly been aware of her presence, but after all this time, he had just brushed it off as his imagination running wild.

Rin had watched on as Sesshomaru and Jaken schemed, and when Jaken ran off to fetch the others she finally spoke up, idly petting A-Un, whose excitement had become somewhat subdued.

"Are we going into battle again?"

"Possibly." Sesshomaru said glancing at her.

Rin's faced flashed a million different emotions before settling on determined. Sesshomaru was reminded of the first time they had met. Her jaw had also been set in that very same line then, too.

"We will win," Rin said bravely and firmly.

Sesshomaru said nothing, but tilted his head forward in an almost imperceptible nod.

 **A/N:** Moe means budding – as in a sakura budding or a pear budding like a blossom bud. And Shio Mashu means salt marsh. (Or as rough of a translation as I could come up with for a salt marsh using a google translate). Many times in primitive agricultural societies, they would over-farm the land much like the dust bowl in the United States in the early thirties through the fourties. As a result of not letting the land "relax" and not grow for a season or two, you build up the salt in the land – which means literally what you'd think, there's too many hard minerals in the land and you can't grow any food. Also, this typically makes you lose the top layer of soil, and it will just blow away, like dust.

Kuriko is a combination of the Japanese word for black (kuro) and priestess (miko). Hense black priestess, see what I did there?

Kuma means bear.

I'm behind on review comments. So many of them, they practically exploded! I will get those comments out to you all hopefully this week.

Thanks! Review if you love it – also if you hate it. =)

 **Edit: 08.16.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her.

Now reviews! I've had several guests post reviews, thanks so much for reading, but I can't get back to you if it's just a Guest. =/ Otherwise, I sent out responses to all my reviews in my backlog! So sorry about the wait on that!

And now back to your regularly scheduled Chapter…

 **Chapter 5. Endless Sleep**

Jinenji opened his eyes and glanced out of his only window at the beginnings of a brand new day. He took in the sweet scent of his fields, the dew on the warming plants and the crisp morning air. The sun had begun to peak its way out from the horizon. He rose and ducked under the low doorway, moving the bamboo screen aside stretching his arms out wide, yawning. When the villagers had helped him rebuild the hut he shared with his mother after they had it burned, they'd re-built it exactly the same. They had in fact built it to the same specifications as the old one. Except, as he stood and stretched out the kinks in his muscles, he rubbed his head in mild annoyance. 'They should have made it bigger,' he thought grumbling. At least the door for Kami's sake…

Jinenji always looked forward to the week of the new moon. Kirara would come retrieve him and he would fly to Edo, where he would assist Kagome for a week in her study of medicinal plants. He was even able to see Rin, who had so reminded him of Kagome when they'd first met. Jinenji had been thrilled that he had friends that would want to see him and even send for him every month. On top of that, they weren't just friends, but _girls_.

Even though Kagome and Inuyasha had married, and Sango and Miroku as well, he still felt lucky to be in the presence of a girl and hold a conversation with them. Kagome had been the first person to treat him with kindness – like a human being. She'd never teased or mocked him, thrown stones or stabbed him with a hoe. She'd treated him like a man and always with respect – not a monster as every other human had been wont to do. She managed to somehow put him at ease. Well, except when it came to her newfound "project" as she liked to call it.

Kagome recently got the idea in her head that he needed to be "set up;" which in Kagome's mind meant taking unwed village girls on romantic strolls with him. He didn't mind though. The girls didn't fear him. He'd become a frequent visitor to Edo, and had helped several families with remedies to illnesses, antidotes for an accidental poisoning or relief from pain during childbirth. In fact – he'd become quite popular with the women of Edo. Not for romantic reasons of course, but because he was such a good listener. Many women felt that no one who spoke to them actually listened, so he would. They would talk to him about their life, and he would listen and occasionally offer advice.

This of course meant that the men groused when he came around, because they all thought he'd steal their women. Miroku had joked that Jinenji was whipping up secret love potions to get the girls to fawn all over him. He had even taken Jinenji aside and asked him privately for his secret, because clearly he was doing _something_. Yet, when Jinenji told Miroku what he did, Miroku brushed him off and scoffed saying, "Of course I listen, you must not want to divulge your secrets."

But, Jinenji possessed no potions or secrets. Of course he wouldn't steal a woman. He was a friend – a friend who would listen to their woes, usually aiding them with an herb or a plant, or sometimes even a spice for cooking. On top of everything, Jinenji never felt that special _spark_ with any of the village girls. The spark his mother oft spoke of when reminiscing about his father or if she'd had too much sake. That very same spark he thought he'd felt when he first sat with Kagome at his side, pulling weeds.

It was a sense of peace. Despite the painful drum beat of his heart pounding in his chest, the sweat that glistened on his brow and palms; and how difficult he'd found it to breathe – he felt that he'd belonged there, right next to her. He'd never felt such belonging or contentment that strongly before in his entire life. Of course, Kagome had no clue.

And she never would.

She was happily married to Inuyasha, and she'd never, ever, _ever_ find out how he truly felt.

Ever.

However, this didn't mean that he didn't enjoy her company. And lately Rin had been spending more and more time with him as well. He'd started feeling that spark again then too. But he'd dismissed her ludic behavior and cheery attitude. How she always had a smile on her face, laughter in her voice and held the warmth of the sun in her eyes. He'd chalked it up to her just being a child who didn't fear him. It had been a good feeling.

Thinking about his friends Jinenji again cast a glance towards the sky in hopes of seeing the fire-cat descending, ready to carry him to Edo. However, as he raised his hand to cover his eyes, he saw no fire-cat in the sky.

He frowned, Kirara was always on time. He felt a deep sense of foreboding come over him.

"Oka-san?" He asked his mother as he walked back inside.

"Eh? Jinenji? Is Kirara here to take you?" She mumbled almost incoherent and he could tell that she wasn't quite awake. She'd had a bit too much sake again last night, and he doubted she would be up before midday.

"No, Oka-san, she's not here…She's late." Jinenji said.

"Hrmm… Why don't you head over there yourself?" His mother yawned out.

"Will you be alright on your own?" Jinenji asked. He really wanted to go and see what had kept Kirara, but lately his mother's health had been deteriorating. She had aches and pains in her joints that came from working in the fields day after day. He'd tried all the herbal remedies he'd known, but in the end, she found that a bottle of sake helped her to sleep. Much to Jinenji's chagrin, he discovered that sake helped her a little too well, and more often of late kept her in her futon until midday.

"I'll be fine," she yawned again and promptly fell back into a deep and snore-filled sleep.

Jinenji shook his head and gathered up his bag that he'd packed with herbs which Kaede had asked for. He stooped to grab some provisions for the journey. Without Kirara it might take him two days to get to Edo on foot, one if he walked all night and didn't sleep.

He glanced back at his mother before closing the bamboo curtain over her sleeping form. "Sleep well Oka-san, goodbye." He said, before turning around and heading northeast towards Edo.

* * *

Jinenji had been on the road more than half the day. The sun which he'd been walking towards for hours had made its swift and steady journey over his head and was now trailing far behind him and beginning to sink towards the horizon. The day had been unseasonably cold for the season of summer. But, at the same time, he felt as if he'd been working in the fields during the hottest part of the day – he was drenched in sweat. To him, such things generally meant a demon or witch was about, and their power filled the air.

The feeling had left him with unease all day, and the hairs on the back of his neck had been standing erect for the past several minutes. He felt as if he was being watched, but he knew that he wasn't. He strained his ears and reached out with his demonic aura. He'd felt no presence save that of a few birds and rodents in the fields that he'd passed.

Still, he wiped the sweat from his brow and quickened his pace. He continued on for several more hours before he felt it. The feeling of unease had become stronger the more he traveled east, and a sense of wrongness overwhelmed him. He was staggered by how thick the air felt, never having felt such an evil presence before.

He continued to walk until he came across a village he knew rather well. The first sign that not all was as it should be was the smell. The wind carried with it the scent of death. Meat left to rot in the sun, the lingering remains of copper – dried blood, and even the smell of excrement. Someone had been eviscerated. Overwhelming his senses he also smelled smoke – the lingering remains of a fire, charred hair and burnt flesh. He hurried forward until the village came into full view.

What he saw disgusted him. What had once been a blossoming village was now a darkened and blood soaked smudge on the landscape. It was obvious what had happened, the village had been surrounded by demons and ravaged. Bodies were strewn everywhere, and more often than not, just body parts.

Jinenji felt bile rise to his throat as he looked on and the scent of death became ever stronger. Unable to look away from the total destruction of a village he had known and had aided several times before. Shio Mashu had stood here, a once and proud village. There had been a prominent miko, Tsuki, he thought her name was, who had cared for many orphaned children. As he looked towards her hut, all he saw was bile, dirt and the blood stained ground. No body or anything that could be recognizable as a container of life remained to be seen. All he could see were bits and pieces. He glimpsed a lone strong arm still forever holding a pike in its death throws.

He looked away and straight into a single small form of a child charred so unrecognizable, he couldn't tell if it had been male or female. It was just coal to his eyes, in the ghost of a child's shape.

Anger sliced through his body, redder and hotter than he'd ever felt before. His eyes flashed red and his muscles seemed to burst with his fury as a blue aura encased him. The strength of his outburst surprised him. He'd never been one prone to anger before, yet, it seemed so natural to him, almost as easy as breathing.

Inuyasha had warned him of this. He warned him what being a hanyou meant, and until this moment, Jinenji had never felt his own level of control over himself slip. He attempted to regain control of himself.

" _Destroy_ ," a dark sensual voice spoke to him.

Jinenji spun around but there was no one there. He was alone in a village filled to the brim with body parts and evil jyaki.

"Find them and destroy them, whoever did this," the voice said again. "Tear into them. Make them pay."

Jinenji realized that the voice was coming from within. It was the death and darkness that filled the air, but had gained a voice. It was this voice that was attempting to encourage him to do evil on its behalf. His aura swirled around him and he pushed down his youki until it receded.

Then he turned and fled, as fast as his legs could carry him. Images of Kagome and Rin's bodies transformed into bloodied legs, arms and bits and were strewn across a field. Images of their deaths steeped in evil made him run faster than he ever had before. He seemed to not even touch the ground with his great long strides. It would have appeared he was flying across the land if the illusion weren't marred by the sound of his great thundering strides. He couldn't remember what he saw after the village: fields, bridges, trees, mountains, roads; they all took on a greenish brown blur as he ran.

The evil that he'd felt standing inside of the village seemed to lessen, and he could breathe easier the further he went. Nonetheless, the evil didn't leave him completely; he felt the presence within festering and this spurned him on even faster than before.

What seemed like an endless amount of time, but in actuality was probably a little more than an hour judging by the suns sinking below the horizon; Jinenji crested a hill and saw below him the village of Edo bathed in twilight.

His heart jumped up into his throat and he forgot to breathe for a moment.

"No," he breathed out in a pained gasp and slumped to his knees defeated.

There was the same darkness surrounding Edo just like there had been in Shio Mashu. From so far away and in the dwindling light he wasn't sure what was happening, but it was clear a battle was being waged. There were also bodies strewn around the village like he had seen before. He prayed these bodies were whole and weren't dead. He hoped the Kami's were listening.

'Not his friends. Not the girls. Not Rin. Not Kagome. Not his new family. Not them! Please – don't let them be _dead_!' He thought frantically.

Desperately he looked towards Kaede's hut and there at the door sat a large priestess-sized lump and a purple bundle next to her. They appeared to be fighting the darkness, with a barrier of bright blue glowing around them and many children cowering within.

Jinenji jumped to his feet, all thoughts lost from his mind except protecting the village and saving the girls.

Little did he know, a stoic demon clad in white had been hard at work at that very job for the past day.

Jinenji arrived at Kaede's hut in a flurry of legs, dust and arms.

Kaede and Miroku were sitting together both in lotus positions and praying. Each of them were glowing slightly blue from their reiki as they attempted to keep up the barrier. It was clear they had been attempting to keep the darkness at bay for a long time. They were clearly exhausted.

"Jinenji!" Kaede exclaimed startled. He had moved so fast, he appeared to have erupted from the ground right at her feet. Miroku opened his eyes and grunted at him in greeting then went back to his prayers. The children cowering behind Kaede also shrieked and cowered at his sudden appearance. But many recognized him and several faces peaked out hidden behind arms and hugs after the other children had called greetings to him. Jinenji ignored them completely, eyes only for Kaede.

"Where's Rin and Kagome?" Jinenji said rather harsher than he meant to.

"Rin is safe." Rin spoke up and stood directly behind Kaede, with her small bow and quiver over her shoulder.

Jinenji's heart leapt for joy. She was safe, and alive. But she'd elapsed into her old speech patterns, referring to herself in the third person. She must be terrified. Then Jinenji noticed that Kagome wasn't among those who were shielded within the barrier.

"And Kagome?" Jinenji said.

"She's not back yet, she's still away at the Harmony Shrine." Rin replied quickly.

Jinenji briefly remembered that Kagome had gone off to a shrine to learn the art of shikigami, but he had assumed that she would have been back by now. She said she'd be back by the time he came to visit again. He swallowed down the feeling of apprehension that crept into his chest.

"What happened?" Jinenji asked finally.

"We don't know. Something attacked the village, but it has no form. Darkness came, and then moths filled the sky and a powder rained down and everyone dropped where they were standing." Rin said, at this pointing to several villagers who he had thought dead.

He walked over and touched the closest man Rin had pointed to, checking for his life signs. He appeared to have just fallen asleep. But this was a sleep unlike anything Jinenji had seen, aside from poisonings.

Jinenji crouched down and listened for the man's breathing which was deep and even. He opened an eyelid and peered into the man's unseeing onyx-colored eye. The pupil remained lifeless and wide and didn't contract at his intrusion. He lifted the man's arm and felt for a pulse, it was low and slow. Jinenji let go then and watched as the man's arm plummeted straight to the ground like a rock. As the arm hit the ground a dusting of a dark bluish purple powder puffed out from the body. Jinenji ran his finger over the man caking his finger in the powder, he brought it to his nose and sniffed.

A wave of exhaustion washed over him, but he batted it away with his hand like one would a pesky fly. He was a youkai from the Earth. He worked in fields all day with herbs, some as innocuous as a dandelions, but some as deadly as nightshade. He knew poisons. This powder held several different herbs, all of which would normally be found in a sleeping draught that he often made for patients in pain. Yet, he felt something underlying the powder. There was a spell – a thick coat of darkness akin to what he'd first felt in Shio Mashu. Again the voice called to him.

" _Destroy_ , free yourself and _kill,_ " it whispered seductively.

"Be quiet." Jinenji snapped. He could feel his body again begin to glow blue and his eyes change to red. Jinenji closed his eyes and fought for control. He would not lose himself. He'd heard too many horror stories from Kagome, and he was already living in one. He didn't want to become the monster too.

"Jinenji?" Rin asked in a voice that sounded as if he had frightened her.

"The powder is spelled to cast an endless sleep." Jinenji said calming his aura.

"I thought as much, no one has woken, though it has been a day." Kaede said.

Jinenji looked across the village at all the bodies he'd thought were dead. They were just sleeping. His heart lightened at once and he felt he could breathe easier. A poison he could fight. This is what he did for a living. No one was dead – yet. And he wouldn't let anyone die either.

A clash and a brilliant crackle of green lightning almost as bright as day brought Jinenji out of his inner reverie. Above him, Sesshomaru floated in the air with Bakusaiga drawn and a sour look upon his face.

"Escaped again, tch." Sesshomaru said before touching down next to Jinenji.

"You are not affected." Sesshomaru said. Jinenji looked at him and shook his head. Sesshomaru looked ruffled. In all the time Jinenji had known him, he'd never seen him look ruffled. He worried at what that meant.

"They have no form; it is not possible to cut them down." Sesshomaru said looking towards Kaede.

"Kagome, we need Kagome. She could … She could help us." Kaede said her voice weakening and her head careening forwards.

"Kaede-sama!" Rin exclaimed reaching out to her mentor and propping her back up into a sitting position. "She's exhausted; I don't think she can hang on much longer."

"Jinenji – go get her. For some reason you're not affected by the poison. We cannot stand against this foe alone." Kaede managed to get out though her head was in her robes, and her voice was strained; she was visibly weakening.

Behind her the few children Kaede and Miroku had saved were whimpering and holding onto one another. Jinenji glanced at them, and only saw terrified faces meet his own. They appeared far more frightened when they had seen Kaede almost keel over than when he had first surprised them with his arrival.

"Hurry." Sesshomaru prompted and gave him a piercing look. Sesshomaru turned his head slightly and his eyes lingered for a moment on Rin before taking off into the sky to battle against the unknown foe. Again he cut through the air with Bakusaiga, but his opponent remained hidden. Only the green lightning flashed, brightening the sky.

Kaede seemed to decide something and her face took on a dark shadow. "Take the road west; they are a week's journey on foot. But a day's travel astride Kirara," Kaede said.

Kirara stepped out from where she had been ensconced by the group of children. It appeared that she had been attempting to keep the group of children distracted with her cute antics.

"Mew," Kirara responded.

"B-But I can't. If you lower the barrier...!" Jinenji spluttered in dismay.

"Yes, we will likely join those in… sleep." Kaede said slowly.

Kaede gave him a hard look before dropping her hands. She and Miroku stopped glowing and Jinenji felt the reiki barrier that had been tickling his senses since he'd arrived drop away.

Kirara jumped into the air and transformed pulling Jinenji along with her. She darted off heading east towards the Harmony Shrine as fast as she could go. But Jinenji was struck dumb and watched as one by one, everyone who had moments before been protected, fell over motionless.

The monk was the first to fall with a heavy thwack – likely completely overtaxed from the cost of reiki. Kaede soon followed after him and then the other children, with soft plumps.

"Hur—r – ry." Was the last sound he heard from Rin before she too fell to the ground with a soft thump.

Jinenji couldn't help but feel a little ill at leaving his friends behind like he had. He trusted in his ability to cure any ailment caused by poison – yet these were his friends. His new family who had adopted him, he didn't know where he would be without them. He knew that they would need Kagome if they were to defeat this foe. He only hoped that she would be up to the task. He urged Kirara forward faster and didn't look back at the growing lightning that colored the sky in a sharp green glow.

* * *

 **A/N:** So finally getting into some action! Huzzah. Oh no! Will everyone be alright? Looks like its sleepy time. ZzzzzzZzzzzZzzzzZZzzzzzZ

I'm going to try to incorporate a word a day from the online Mirriam-Webster dictionary into my writing. Sort of like a prompt, but with a single word instead.

When I wrote this the word was ludic: adjective lu·dic \ˈlü-dik\ : of, relating to, or characterized by play : playful ludic behavior a ludic novel.

As always, if you like this chapter, review. If you hate it, review. I will respond to everyone! And it encourages me to complete a chapter faster. Thanks all!

 **Edit: 08.19.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Thank you **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Warning** : Kind of graphic scene, not for the faint of heart. Re – M in the ratings. Not saying that someone younger than 16 can't figure out how to read an M fic, but just saying.

 **Chapter 6. Nightmares of the Past**

Kagome had been in this world for a long time. Yet, she knew it wasn't the right world.

'Right world?' She thought. 'What a weird thought, is there a wrong world?'

It appeared to be the one she was currently in. She looked around. She appeared to be in a formless space, and had been for what felt like days. She was surrounded by darkness, which was strongly reminiscent of being inside the Shikon Jewel. But there she'd felt lonely and empty. Here she didn't feel evil in the darkness. It just felt like she was out camping in the country where no manmade light touched the land.

As she watched, her surroundings changed. The closer she looked at them, the more she realized she recognized them.

 _Home_.

There was the Goshinboku. There was her house, the well-house, the torii gates, the shed where her father kept all the shrines trinkets, the steps, even the big bell for visitors to ring. But it looked wilder in this place than she remembered.

She looked up. It was autumn. The trees took on a wonderful fiery color palate of oranges, yellows and reds. A cool breeze blew through the trees and several leaves came raining down on her head. She tried to grasp one, but it just slipped through her fingers.

"Mama? Souta?" No one responded to her calls. "Jii-chan? … Buyo?" Kagome said aloud.

Perhaps no one was home? She walked towards her front door eager to see her family. Just as she was about to reach for the handle to the door; it flew open and out ran a small giggling girl.

Kagome jumped back in surprise. The girl paid her no mind and she could have sworn that she had almost run right through her. It was as if Kagome were a ghost.

"You can't catch meeee!" The little girl shrieked.

"Of course I can, and then I'll gobble you up." A man said from the door and darted after the little girl all the while making chomping noises.

Kagome looked over to the man and froze.

"Daddy?" She said horrified. She looked him up and down and took in his appearance as he chased the little girl. The girl shrieked and squealed in delight attempting to outrun the man chasing her. But, in the end he caught her. At this she squealed even louder.

"Don't rile her up too much, she'll never take a nap if you do," The girl's mother intoned from the open door. Her voice was harsh, but the effect was ruined with the bright smile that lit up her face. Her brown eyes shone with amusement as she watched her husband and daughter play. Her hair was done up in a loose bun with chopsticks and she leaned against the doorframe, a hand resting on her rather swollen belly. She looked to be about six months pregnant.

"No." Kagome said as she took in the scene. The woman looked like her mother. Her mother had been wearing that dress – was wearing _that_ dress. She was wearing a western style dress whose heavy cloth was off-white. The dress was covered in bright white and pastel pink flowers falling off a subdued cherry tree that was blowing in the wind.

Kagome blanched and flipped around to gaze at the man. He wore a simple casual hairstyle with his reddish blond locks just reaching past his eyes. The hair became closely cropped to his head the more it reached his sideburns and behind his ears. He was adorned in a dark green long sleeve shirt; he also wore a pair of black boots and black pants. His bright green eyes were twinkling with mirth as he threw the girl in his arms up a few feet and then caught her still making chomping noises, as if he would eat her up.

The small girl was wearing a western style long sleeved dark blue dress hemmed with green patterned with bright red cherries bundled with leaves. She also wore white knee socks and bright red boots to match the dress. Her short hair was swept up into a wild flyaway pony tail with a green ribbon. Her blue eyes were alight with happiness at being tossed.

"We're going to the park. Don't worry she'll get tired out there no problem." He replied coolly to the woman in the doorway.

"Yes Mama, don't worry," repeated the little girl held in the arms of her father and smiling sweetly. Her face reeked with childlike mischief – as if she were accustomed to using her charm and whiles.

The woman just shook her head, looking amused. She walked back inside closing the door behind her. It shut with a snap and the pair looked at each other and smiled.

Kagome's chest filled tight with emotions and she found it extremely difficult to breath past them. Her mother hadn't even said goodbye to them, she'd just turned and simply walked away.

Kagome had always loved how her mother explained the story of meeting her father, Bradan. He had been an airman stationed at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. But he'd had some leave saved up and he'd always been interested in the Shinto religion and shrines. He'd come to Honshu with the express intent of visiting as many traditional shrines as possible. He'd started out at the Higurashi Shrine in Tokyo, but once he'd seen her mother, he knew he'd found something far more important than lost history. He'd always said that he'd been struck by Sucellos, the Celtic god of love that day.

Kagome's mother Kiyoko had been performing the traditional purification of the shrine –and he was unable to look away. It had been love at first sight, and he'd not visited another shrine on his trip. After his deployment, he'd left the Air Force and moved to Japan, where he'd soon married Kagome's mother. Kagome was born nine months later.

Kagome's father had become a military contractor on mainland Japan after leaving the military. He hadn't wanted his children to be ostracized at school for being hafu; so he'd taken a very liberal stance and his children had taken their mothers last name when they were born. It would have been perfectly convincing, if it weren't for Kagome's blue eyes. They screamed foreigner. But as Kagome grew up, she found people thought her special for her blue eyes, and she was never teased.

"Mama doesn't suspect a thing!" The little girl said a little too loudly.

"Shhh. Be quiet or we won't be able to keep it that way," the girl's father said in hushed tones bringing a single finger up to his lip in a shushing motion.

The little girl followed suit: "Shhhhhhh," she said, and then giggled.

"No." Kagome intoned again. That was all that she had been able to say since this scene had begun playing out in front of her like a movie. She didn't know what to do or how to extricate herself from the scene. She tried to run away from her house, but found no matter how hard she ran, she couldn't get away from the shrine.

She watched helpless as the daughter and father walked down the steps and got into a rundown white Toyota. She thought since she didn't get in with them, that she would be left in her courtyard – but no such luck. She found herself being spirited away becoming a passenger in the car. She sat in the front passenger seat and watched as the man helped to buckle his daughter in the back.

As the father did this the girl played with his watch. It was a black automatic watch and the front of it was exposed so she could see all of the gears and movements of time. She poked at it and tried to memorize the clicking motions of it all. "Tick, tick, tick," she intoned.

As soon as he had strapped her in, he tickled her neck and said, "tick" and she laughed and tried to squirm away. He smiled and strode around the car, got in the driver's side and turned over the engine.

Kagome couldn't believe what she was seeing. This horrible day was playing out right before her eyes. She tried to expatiate herself away from the car, but found she couldn't. She was strapped in, just like her former seven year old self. The day she and her father had lied. They'd deceived her mother into thinking they were going to the park. In reality, her father had taken her to help him pick out an anniversary present for his wife.

This was the worst day of her life. Kagome covered her face with her hands and started to shake with trepidation. She'd found she'd been holding her breath because breathing had become almost impossible. She let it out in a harsh exhlation. She wouldn't. She couldn't. She _couldn't_ watch, and she definitely didn't want to listen as the father played an I-spy car game with the little girl.

Kagome had remembered how her father had always been able to trick her. No matter what game she played. He would be so sneaky with twenty questions and would attempt to inform her that a fly only had four legs when she _knew_ it had six. He would argue – no! This one has only four; he was a brave fly who had lost two legs in a scrap against a spider. Kagome had to work out his clues; and what he didn't say was far more valuable than what he did.

After the car stopped moving Kagome finally removed her hands from her eyes. She watched as the man smiled and got out, saying how they were here! And now, they could go pick out Mama's present.

She didn't know when she had begun to cry, but she could feel tears on her face, and they came silently to her. She simply watched as the events played out helplessly in front of her.

The father and daughter entered into a jewelry store and picked out a lovely pair of diamond earrings.

"What do you think? A pair of jewels for the gem of my life?" The man joked.

"Can I see?" The little girl said. She looked on as the jewelry seller handed her the princess-cut diamond earrings and she cooed, "Wow!" The little girl had never seen anything so shiny or sparkly. Though they were colorless, they also contained all the colors of the rainbow, and if she turned her head, she could swear she saw purple, and green and blue and even a yellow sheen sparkle at her. She just couldn't wait to see her mother's face light up when she opened her present.

They paid for the earrings and walked out with a spiffy paper bag festooned with flamboyant tissue paper exploding out of the top. The pair did not notice, but Kagome did. The weather had taken a turn for the worse. The sky had darkened from light blue to pitch-black and grey clouds had rolled in overhead, while they'd been in the store. What had started as a gentle trickle evolved into a torrential flood as the rain came down in sheets.

The little girl said, "Hurry, we'll get soaked Daddy."

Bradan buckled his daughter back into the car, placed the festive present next to her on the seat and said, "Now don't forget, it's a secret." Again he brought his finger up to his lips and made a shushing sound.

"Shhhhh, it's a secret Daddy!" the little girl imitated him.

He walked around the car and got in again, turning over the engine.

Kagome wanted to run, she wanted to leave the car but found she could not. She was paralyzed with fear. She couldn't move. She didn't want to be here, but she also found she couldn't look away either.

They had only driven two blocks and were parked in front of a stoplight when Kagome looked to the left. She spotted the fancy grey car that would plow into them well ahead of the impact. The woman appeared to be flailing her arms madly around on the steering wheel, in mock imitation of a race-car driver in the Indie 500. She'd lost control of her car because of the rain and was fishtailing out of control.

Kagome looked back at the little girl. She would be forever changed this day. She'd watch as her father was killed right before her eyes. She'd watch as the last words she'd said to her father had been some silly secret that she couldn't tell her mother about the present. It hadn't been a heartfelt talk. She hadn't even been serious. She'd been joking with her father. But she would be far too young to understand the implications of this 'last talk with dad' for years to come. She was only seven years old.

Kagome looked at the man sitting next to her and at that moment, right before the impact, she studied his face. He looked kind, happy and absolutely clueless. Then the man turned around in his seat and waggled his eyebrows at his daughter. The girl laughed and then the world exploded in a hail of broken glass as the grey car slammed into them.

Kagome hadn't remembered that part. She'd known that if her father had been sitting in the driver's seat properly he would not have died. He had been wearing a seatbelt, but because he was twisted, when the car slammed into him, his neck was broken on impact. What she hadn't remembered was that he had been teasing her. He had turned to speak to her, and at the last moment, she'd killed him. It was her fault. She had been the ultimate cause of her father's death.

Somewhere in her rational mind Kagome knew it wasn't true. It hadn't been poor seven year old Kagome's fault at all. It had been the woman's fault for not buying new tires the previous week when the mechanic said she needed them. It'd been the fact that the woman wasn't paying attention and had been in the middle of texting when the car spun out. It had been the woman's fault for having one too many drinks at lunch and then getting behind the wheel. It had been their old beaten down white Toyota's fault – a car that was twenty years too old to be carrying around such precious cargo. It had been the weather's fault. It had been the stoplight's fault. It had been random chance that they happened to be the only car caught at that particular stoplight, at that exact moment when the woman had careened into them. There were a hundred and one other possible reasons that it wasn't her fault.

Yet, Kagome didn't think of any of those. She felt a pit in her stomach deepen and she couldn't help but think she had been the cause of her father's death. And once she started, she couldn't stop.

Kagome looked around – her seven-year-old self had hit her head and received a concussion. She'd need 10 stitches in her scalp where a large piece of glass had hit the back of her head. Her arm would also be in a sling because it had been broken during the crash, but otherwise she was fine.

Kagome pitied the girl. She'd complain about the scars after recovering from the trauma. They'd always remind her of this fateful day. Poor girl. She didn't know how many more scars would write out their somber tune into her body along the way.

Kagome forced herself to look at her father. He _wasn't_ fine. He wasn't fine at all, he was dead.

He was sitting with his head thrown forwards as if in sleep, but he was straining on the seatbelt. It didn't look natural. There was blood pouring from his right ear, and nose, and his nose was also broken. Kagome bent down and looked at the man's face.

It'd been a closed casket ceremony and now she knew why. He had died with a smile on his lips.

Kagome buried her face in her hands and wept.

A/N: So there you have it, where Kagome has been since chapter three. Don't worry, it will all make sense next chapter.

Another note, this chapter was supposed to be just one, but it became almost 16 pages, far too long. So I cut it up in the easiest way possible for me to cut it. And I'm going to post them pretty close together so you won't have to wait on the edges of your seat. =)

Review and make me smile!

Kiyoko – is a Japanese female name for a pure child or one that mean's clarity. I thought this particularly relevant to Kagome's mother, a child of a shrine.

Bradan - PRONOUCE: "bray + dawn" DESCRIPTION: Comes from the word bradan meaning "a salmon" in Irish and the bradan feasa, the "Salmon of Knowledge" (read the legend) is central to the tales of Fionn MacCool (read the legend).

Sucellos – is the celtic god of love _and_ time, though when depicted with his wife, is considered the god of prosperity and domesticity. I thought this was especially appropriate as her father marries a Japanese woman who gives birth to Kagome, a time traveler. ;P

 **Edit: 08.19.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Thank you **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Chapter 7. Green Scales and Fangs with Pink Beads**

Kagome came awake suddenly and painfully. Her heart felt as if it were pounding a salsa beat right out of her chest, and her body ached. There was an unfamiliar but very strong vapor under her nose – what she could only assume was a type of smelling salt. It annoyed her. She blindly smacked the hand away that held the smell there. The small movement seemed to drain her of all her energy. She heard voices but couldn't comprehend them.

Kagome had felt like this on several occasions. When she'd been cursed by Tsubaki, when Urasue had ripped out her soul and when Magatsuhi had sealed her powers. She felt completely and utterly powerless – as if someone had taken whatever filled her up with life and emptied her out. She was hollow, a ghost of the real Kagome. Yet, she also felt extremely heavy. Each movement seemed to cause such effort that she broke out in a cold sweat.

She tried to roll back over and drift back into unconsciousness. She remembered the dream painfully, and she could see her father's dead face – smiling at her. But even that was solitude from the pain she found in the waking world.

Everything ached and her very soul seemed to throb in pain. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned.

The strong smell came up under her nose again and this time she was angry. "Get away!" She said angrily and swatted at the hand with all her might. Of course, to the outsider, she just grunted and it looked as if she were lazily swatting at flies.

"Kagome… Kagome you must get up." A male voice spoke to her in a sad and sweet tone.

That voice sounded familiar but she couldn't place it. She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were dead weight. She couldn't lift them.

"Urrmmm?" Kagome tried to speak.

"I told you this wouldn't work. Baka. She's been sleeping for a week. Some herbs ain't gonna do anything!" The loud rough tones of Inuyasha broke through her muddled thoughts.

If that was Inuyasha, and he didn't sound pleased, who was he talking to? What was she doing here? Killing her father? No. She hadn't killed her father. It had been an accident. Right? Or was it her fault?

She groaned. Her head was pounding with useless thoughts, but the pain seemed to simply start out of nowhere. No, not out of nowhere, the pounding started with her thoughts. That was the problem. She should stop thinking this very minute. She smacked her forehead with her hand and rubbed the aching spot above her right temple.

"Kagome!? Kagome, get up!" A desperate girl's voice broke through her headache.

Kagome decided that she didn't like these voices at all. She wanted them to all stop. Stop… _stop_. She knew how to stop someone. Who was that again? …Ahh yes, she knew how to stop Inuyasha.

"…Osuwari…" Kagome groaned out while rubbing her splitting skull.

"Ahhh!" Inuyasha yelled as he succumbed to the rosary around his neck. The loud 'thwacking' noise just caused Kagome to yell at what the painfully loud noise had done to her splitting headache.

"I think she's coming to. She only sits him when she's awake after all…" Another girl's voice said.

"Ka-go-meeee…!" Inuyasha's voice ground out and he sounded really mad at her.

Kagome was furious. She was sleeping. What were all these people doing around her while she was sleeping? Why did her head hurt so much?

She licked her dry lips and discovered the worst morning breath she'd ever experienced upon waking. She tried to get her tongue moving, but it too was heavy and unwilling to listen to her.

Her thoughts drifted hazily from one topic to the next and she remembered the one time she'd had a sleepover at her family shrine. Her mother and grandfather had been invited to a special event at another shrine and took Souta with them. She'd been seventeen and was of course 'a responsible teenager.' So, naturally she invited Yuka, Eri and Ayumi over. They had brought romantic comedies, enough nail polish to paint an army in a rainbow of color and several board games. Kagome had planned to have a fun girl's night. But instead, her friends had found her grandfather's sake stores.

Kagome had been against the idea at first, but she had always wanted to know what drowning your sorrows felt like. At that time she was in her final year of high school, and hadn't seen her feudal family in two years. None of the girls knew what to expect, but they'd mixed the awful tasting stuff with lots of soda and juice. Before they knew it they were making crank calls to Hojo and a few other boys that had caught Yuka and Eri's attentions while Ayumi laughed and stumbled around. They were all completely and utterly drunk.

Kagome wondered what her feudal family would have said if they could have seen her then. She'd only happened to have alcohol one other time, and that had been on the mountain of mist trying to get Miroku's old master the best sake around. She still flushed when she'd thought what Sango had been about to do. Of course she'd been warned about alcohol, and she'd heard that inhibitions could become somewhat un-inhibited, but she'd never really known the truth. Not until she saw Sango throw herself at Inuyasha.

Kagome had started laughing when she remembered what she'd done to Inuyasha as Sango had been about to kiss him. She found she couldn't stop. When she had tried to explain why she was laughing so hard, the girls couldn't follow her drunken story and they'd soon passed out while she'd been trying to explain.

However, all of them had awoken the next day with splitting headaches and had made a pact – swearing off alcohol of any kind. Worst of all, they'd made quite a mess of the shrine and had been forced to speed clean it before Kagome's family had come home. She'd particularly remembered that she never wanted to see another bottle of alcohol again, for fear she'd just automatically throw up from the smell.

For the third time Kagome smelt a strong herb under her nose. This made her finally open her eyes. Her heart jumped to her throat, and she felt as if she could run a mile. However, she knew she was in no condition to do so and groaned at the bright light and what it did to her head.

Peering down at her were six faces. Most surprising of the faces perhaps was Kirara's who was sitting on Kagome's chest. Her kitten-like-face was so close to her, she could barely make out her features. She'd thought at first glance that a very large and imposing demon was about to eat her. That was of course, until she felt Kirara's paws kneading her chest and purring as if Kagome would lactate at any moment.

"Mew!" Kirara said right in her face.

Kagome scowled.

She blinked several times and looked around fully coming to. The second most surprising face was that of Jinenji's. Not only did he fill up most of her field of vision but he also had a worried look on his face. She'd never seen him exhibit any emotions but a kind and winning smile. Once he'd expressed exasperation at her antics while attempting to set him up with the village girls, yet, now he appeared extremely stressed.

Kagome didn't know what to make of this, so she said the first thing that popped into her head.

"Good Morning, Jinenji-san," Kagome said stupidly.

All the tension exited the room at Kagome's inane statement.

Jinenji smiled and replied kindly, "Good Morning, Kagome-san."

"Well now that we're done with the introductions!" Inuyasha said outraged still lying on the ground.

Kagome tried to rise but Jinenji stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"You shouldn't move yet Kagome. I forced you awake with a very potent herb from a reiki-induced sleep."

"How long?" Kagome asked.

"A week." Inuyasha replied.

Kagome nodded, but the movement hurt so much she abruptly stopped. She still felt so sluggish and all her muscles screamed out from being immobile for so long. She also had the feeling that something was wrong but she couldn't think what it was.

She glanced over at the foot of her futon. The memories of her last conscious day rose to the surface. Her father stared at her. No, he was not her father, he was a shikigami imitation. He just stood there, standing guard. No emotion rode his face. No light was on so to speak. Absolutely no one was home. He just stared impassively.

She gasped when she saw him.

"Keh, who is _he_ Kagome?" Inuyasha groused.

Kagome barely spared a glance at Inuyasha before looking back at her creation.

"He is my father, as much as I can remember of him." Kagome said seriously.

Inuyasha appeared slightly mollified by her answer but still appeared to put up a fight.

"Why does he look so strange? … Er…? Foreign?" Inuyasha said angrily.

"Because he's an Irish-American," Kagome said smiling at her father.

She blinked back up at Inuyasha until he was in focus and saw a complete look of bewilderment on her face. Right – time could be so tricky. America hadn't even been discovered yet. Or had it? …Had it? Columbus, and 1490…2? When did he sail the ocean blue again? Ugh, sometimes time-traveling sucked.

"He _is_ a foreigner." Kagome said clarifying.

Inuyasha's ears flattened and then glanced over at the shikigami who had been protecting Kagome while she slept. His face softened though, as he looked at her work. It became clear to Kagome that Inuyasha had thought him a type of competition.

Kagome smiled at the idea that Inuyasha thought her very own father was in competition for her affections. _Really_. Sometimes it seemed like he didn't have a brain in his body.

"You did very well," Botan said.

"Yes, Kagome, very well." Momiji said.

"If only I could believe that," Kagome grumbled.

"Kagome-san, the reason we woke you from your slumber is that Edo is under attack," Jinenji said quietly. "Kaede told me to come and bring you back."

Kagome glanced at Jinenji and she saw the dark shadows that passed over his normally kind face.

"What has happened Jinenji-san?" Kagome managed to get out a smile. She still felt so very weak. She tried to think about standing, let alone fighting – about summoning reiki and purifying foes. She didn't think she could do it, even if her life depended on it.

"I'm not sure, but the entire village is under an enchanted sleep. Kaede and Miroku held out as long as they could, but they succumbed as well when they gave me Kirara to get you." Jinenji said.

"What about Sango?" Kagome asked.

"I never saw her." Jinenji replied.

It was obvious to Kagome even in her hazy state that he was angered that he had left the village while it was under attack, and Kagome feared for Edo. Anything to anger Jinenji, a person whom she'd never seen upset before, must have been a mighty foe. She thought of all the villagers that she'd helped, and all of Sango's children, not to mention Rin.

Inuyasha must have been on the same wavelength for he said, "Keh. Sesshomaru is there, he won't let anything happen to the village." Inuyasha dismissed Jinenji's dire look with a flick of his hand in the air.

"He did not look capable of vanquishing whoever did this. He and Kaede both agreed that you were needed." Jinenji said, unperturbed by Inuyasha's abrupt roughness.

"Then I must go." Kagome said and she tried to sit up, but failed and ended up floundering in a mass of blankets.

"Careful Kagome-san." Jinenji said kindly while he helped her to sit up.

He looked at her and appeared very sad. She felt as if he was looking into her soul and he regretted what he found. She didn't like the look he gave her. Like she was weak and couldn't take care of herself. She hadn't survived years in the feudal era for nothing. She was determined to show Jinenji that she was made out of stronger stuff.

Jinenji explained to the best of his ability all that had happened on his way to see what had kept Kirara. While he did Botan and Momiji were scheming in the corner in hushed tones.

"Oi! What are you two doing?" Inuyasha flared up.

"We were discussing Kagome." Momiji said.

Kagome looked over to her sister priestesses surprised. She forced the wave of nausea that had come over her from moving so quickly back down. She realized that making a humanoid shikigami and then passing out – apparently for a week – was bad form. But, darn it all, she had done it hadn't she? And she was alive, despite being in pretty bad shape. Sadly, Kagome felt like a failure. She felt as if she had wasted her time at the Harmony Shrine, when in fact she could be back home right now, protecting her own village.

"What about her?" Inuyasha replied.

"We were discussing what she would take with her when she left," Botan spoke up, looking very serious.

At that both sisters turned heel and left.

"What was that about?" Jinenji asked.

Kagome just shrugged. She didn't want to discuss how she had failed at being an apprentice. Especially not when the fruits of her labor stood at the foot of the bed and stared at her.

It hurt to look at her father. She looked him up and down, and he was an exact replica of her father she had seen in her dream. Kagome beckoned him over. He came to her and sat down on her left. Kagome scrutinized his form; he even had on the watch. The watch she'd just seen her younger self playing with. It was the very same watch that he'd been wearing when the grey car smashed into him, ending his life.

Kagome looked down at her own wrist and felt an unfamiliar weight. There was a replica of the watch her shikigami wore. Except hers wasn't a replica, Kagome's was the original.

After her father's body had been recovered, all his personal effects were given to the Higurashi family. Kagome's mother couldn't bear to look at his wedding band without getting a faraway look in her eyes. So, her mother had requested that he be buried with it. Yet, his watch had survived the crash. In fact, it appeared to have been the only thing that had survived completely unscathed. Her mother joked that it must have been magic. This, of course, had been long before Kagome fell down the well and believed in such things.

Kagome never understood it. Of all the things to survive the crash, a small breakable watch should _not_ have been amongst the survivors. Yet, there it sat on her wrist.

She'd never told Inuyasha about the significance of the watch. He didn't really understand the importance of time, or what it meant in her world. Nor did he comprehend how watches were traditionally handed down from father to son, yet, she'd inherited it, instead of Souta. Her mother wouldn't have had it any other way.

Yet, Inuyasha had inferred that it had meant something important to her, and something to do with her family. She never spoke of her father, and he'd never asked.

She'd come to the feudal era with it, and it had been the only way she kept track of the days as she had adventured in search of the Shikon no Tama. It was powered by the movement of her own arm, and in theory would never need a battery change. The perfect item for the savvy time-traveler; especially, in a place about four hundred years before the invention of a battery.

However, she had never thought the watch would survive her own adventures; yet, it had. How many times had she been covered in demon guts? Blood? Acid? Miasma? Poison? Dunked in water? Kidnapped? After thinking of more than twelve separate instances, Kagome actually lost count. She still had the watch, and it kept great time. She was able to tell exactly what day it was back home at the Shrine. She'd felt she had a piece of home wherever she went, no matter how far she seemed to travel.

Yet, when she'd come back to the Sengoku Jidai, she'd not wanted to take it out that often. Once she'd decided to stay on the feudal side of the well, the watch had been her last connection to her father. In fact, it was her only connection to her own family now. She'd been cautious not to damage it. She would charge it, look at it, and then put it in a safe place in her house.

She looked at Inuyasha and raised her hand in question.

"You asked for it in your sleep," Inuyasha said.

Kagome looked at him for a moment, then back at the watch. She hadn't even realized she'd packed it for the trip to the Harmony Shrine. She wondered what he had heard about her dreams besides her request for the watch. She had just re-lived the worst day of her young life. Had she screamed? Cried? Did he hear her blame herself for her father's death?

She hoped she had only asked for the watch. Kagome hung her head in shame. She should be more open with him, and let him in. Yet, Kagome had never told anyone about that fateful day. While Inuyasha might have been able to relate, never having grown up with his own father, she never explained. It was a private matter belonging only to her and her mother.

Botan and Momiji took that moment to burst through the door, effectively crashing Kagome's inner pity party. She jumped and then winced as the pain of moving hurt her weakened body. The sisters appeared highly pleased with themselves. They also appeared to be hiding something behind their backs.

"What's with you two?" Inuyasha said gruffly.

"We were discussing Kagome's progress. We wanted to congratulate her, upon the completion of her training." Botan said.

"And in accordance with our traditions, we wanted to present you with this." Momiji said.

Kagome looked at the sisters. They each stepped to the side and from behind their backs they pulled out a very ornately decorated green set of o-youroi. She just stared. She didn't know what to say.

The armor was beautiful. It was just as she had seen in museums and her history books. The breastplate was black lined with green, the spaulders were a dark black and were covered in spikes, the faulds, greaves, vambraces and gauntlets were made from green scales. It lacked a traditional helmet, but instead, came with a face mask, a replica of Sango's adorned with a pink ribbon.

At first glance the armor would appear to have been made from wood; however, it shimmered in the candle light like a green oil slick. It looked very heavy. Kagome looked at it slightly apprehensive. She thought if she wore it, she would never be able to stand. An image of her as a great brilliant and shimmering green fish flopping around on the ground filled her head which colored her cheeks a bright shade of pink.

"But I passed out." Kagome said. It seemed the _only_ thing to say.

Botan waved her hand in front of her face. "Kagome, you are strong. Stronger than even our master was. You have mastered the bo, all your katas, you are the most competent archer we've met. You could teach _us_ in the ways of Shikigami. You have proven yourself."

"Welcome sister." Momiji said.

Both sisters bowed to her and presented her with the armor.

Kagome didn't know what to say. On top of it all, she'd forgotten to breath, and felt lightheaded. As she gasped in some air in a huff, she thought all of her hard work had truly paid off. In modern terms she had essentially graduated. She was a priestess of the Harmony Shrine, and as such, she was bequeathed her very own set of armor. And…?

"A sword?" Kagome said as Botan and Momiji showed her how all of the inner straps worked and how to put the armor on.

The katana was very similar to Sango's and Kagome wondered if she'd had a hand in making it. It looked just like one of the swords from the slayer village, except her tsuka was patterned in pink and green. The sheath was also covered in the same green scales that the armor was.

Inuyasha and Jinenji kept Kagome propped up as she watched Botan and Momiji's practiced movements of putting the armor on. She was pushed into a full sitting position and all the blood seemed to drain from her head, Kagome felt like she was going to puke. No she was going to puke and pass out or break out into a cold sweat. Perhaps she would do all three if she was really lucky.

"Yes. We had hoped to further your training, but that seems impossible now. The kata movements we taught you are for the sword." Botan said.

"Just keep practicing, Inuyasha has promised to assist you." Momiji said glancing over at Inuyasha with a mischievous look in her eye.

At this Kagome looked at Inuyasha. "You knew?" She said outraged.

"Of course he knew," Momiji said. "Did you really think we were always out competing against each other? He was helping me make it for you. He said you liked green."

Kagome looked at her sisters and then at Inuyasha. She smiled as brightly as she could.

"It's beautiful!" Kagome said, taking off her green tunic and shrugging the armor on over her white hakama and haori. She mimicked Botan's and Momiji's movements, trying the best she could while still propped up in her futon. She thought she would look brilliant, a gallant warrior priestess. As long as she didn't have to stand on her own two feet, that is, she'd be fine.

Inuyasha blushed and turned away so she wouldn't see, but Kagome saw his face before he turned around. "Now you won't get hurt so easily. If you insist on fighting, at least _now_ you'll be protected." He scoffed.

Kagome looked at the armor with admiration, what she had thought was wood turned out to actually be bone. It was also light, she'd thought she'd be weighed down and feel like an umpire. Instead she imagined herself as a fleet-footed as Robin Hood. She touched it and felt the lingering aura of youki.

"Did Sango help?" Kagome asked.

"Nothing gets by you Kagome," Botan said. "She and Miroku exorcised the spirits from the bones and scales."

"Jinenji helped make the facemask. It should prevent most poisons and toxins." Momiji said.

Kagome looked up at Jinenji – a flush of color had risen to his face.

"Ano… I just wanted to help…" Jinenji said blushing a fine shade of pink and looking intently at the ceiling.

Kagome smiled at him.

Momiji and Botan helped Kagome tie the breastplate. The spaulders were then tied to her chest piece. Kagome thought about removing the watch, but found it fit alright underneath her gloves, so she kept it on under her armor. She eased into the vambraces, greaves and gauntlets on her own. They felt like she was preparing to go out into the snow, as the armor gave her the impression that she was wearing thick gloves and boots.

Kagome was amazed at how light and comfortable it was. She could hardly tell she was in armor. The inside of it had been lined with soft supple leather. She didn't ask where they had gotten it. She didn't want to think of all the soft cuddly animals that had died so she would be comfortable in her armor.

The sisters tied a bright pink obi that matched her swords tsuka and threaded her sword through it, on her left side. Next, they presented her with an ornately made quiver.

The quiver was perhaps even more glorious than the set of armor. The outside of the quiver was adorned with the same scales, but, every so often gold scales were mixed in to break up the monotony of green. She recognized the gold scales for what they were, dragon. They radiated pink, gold and white in the dim candle light. The green scales shone too, but, shimmered from a bright blue to a deep green, and then to a dark purple. It was gorgeous. The outside of the quiver was rimmed with a white fur, and the inside where the arrows sat was soft suede. The arrows themselves were tipped with black arrowheads and nocked with green feathers. These too held the lingering aura of youki. She counted the arrows; there were fourteen in total.

"Totosai made it. He said it could rival Tetsusaiga, but I doubt it…" Inuyasha said loftily.

"How so?" Kagome asked.

"He wouldn't say, but he said you'd be impressed." Inuyasha replied.

Momiji stepped forward and presented her final gift. It was a rosary, very similar to the one that Inuyasha wore, but it was light pink with only three fangs evenly spaced out in the middle. The middle fang was smaller and the two on the outer edges were much larger, all of which appeared to be canines.

"This is so you won't pass out again Kagome. It's meant as a focus, to help in making shikigami. You can store power in it as well." Momiji said.

"Why didn't you give me this before I tried to make a man-made shikigami?" Kagome grumbled. If they'd given it to her beforehand, perhaps she wouldn't be feeling so awful now.

"It was a test, you have to be able to hold your reiki and spirit together on your own. Your body needs to know how, before it can channel the power to focus." Momiji explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

"Shippo, Kirara and Inuyasha each donated a fang to it. It should be a really powerful focus," Botan said.

"Last time I let you talk me into doing you a favor," Inuyasha said roughly glaring at Botan. Clearly he hadn't liked being a "donor."

Kagome did not know how long this gift must have taken to make. She could feel the love and care that had been poured into it, and how many of her friends had assisted in making her armor and quiver. She held it tightly to herself. Her heart swelled, and it felt very difficult to breathe as tears came to her eyes. She'd never felt so loved.

"Baka, don't cry! Save your strength." Inuyasha said gruffly. But she could tell he was pleased with her reaction.

Kagome stood up shakily as she clung to Jinenji for support. Her vision swam for a moment, but as she held on, the room eventually leveled out. Even in her weakened state, Kagome felt like a beautiful warrior. She thought of Midoriko, and hoped wherever the priestess had found her rest, she was smiling upon Kagome.

It dawned on Kagome that she was in fact a warrior now too. In this era she was a battle maiden. Her home had just been invaded and she had been tasked to defend it. She glanced down at her watch and gathered what strength she had, finally turning to her friends. Her eyes hardened and she looked across the room at her father. He just stared at her, awaiting a command.

"Come on, we have a village to protect." Kagome said.

 **A/N:** This chapter took soooo long to write. It just kept coming. I had wanted it to be one segment, connected with the previous chapter, but it became far too awkward and long. So instead I've made it two chapters.

I was so pleased, I've had over 200 people visit this story this month alone! If you really like it please review. And to those of you who have, thank you!

Also, in case any of you are huge Pokémon fans like me, how cool is it that Gamestop will be giving away one legendary Pokémon each month for this year in honor of the 20 anniversary? I can finally get Mew! Huzzah! I'm so excited! =D

 **Edit: 08.19.2016 -** **Fixed grammatical and spelling errors, small edits.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Much love and thanks to all my awesome reviewers! **MirrorFlower and DarkWind** , **Madam Fluffy** , **JJ** , **yukihime88** , **shadow** **miko** , **Nyght** **elf**! Thank you!

And of course a special thanks to **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Chapter 8. Battle for Edo**

Jinenji, Inuyasha, Kirara and Kagome had packed up what little they'd need, and left the Harmony Shrine in a rush. Jinenji was riding Kirara, and Kagome had been on Inuyasha's back. She'd found it rather difficult to get comfortable in her new armor, as it poked and prodded her in new and unfamiliar ways. While she'd typically carried a bow, she found a bow, a quiver and her backpack to be extremely difficult to manage above the armor on her back. She also couldn't turn her head without accidentally getting her hair caught in the spikes on her spaulders. She'd remedied that by putting her hair up with a pink ribbon she'd found tucked away inside the armor. She thought of Sango and smiled. It appeared her friends had thought of everything.

Except, of course, the moon. Halfway through their return trip to Edo, the sun had sunk down below the horizon. Kagome had expected the moon to follow the sun, and rise slowly, but it hadn't. This wouldn't have been very important if it hadn't been for Inuyasha. His hair had run black, with his ears and claws receding and he'd fallen over from the weight of an armored Kagome on his back.

The fight that had ensued was inevitable. Kagome had wanted Inuyasha to take Kirara and head back to the Shrine, she could ride atop Jinenji's shoulders. But, of course, Inuyasha would hear none of her demands. She was human, and so was he. He wouldn't let her go into battle alone, and he refused to go back, even if he was human.

So, Kagome had found herself looking for someone else to be her beast of burden. She'd swapped places with Jinenji atop Kirara, and Inuyasha was holding on to her waist behind her. Jinenji was trying to keep up with Kirara's pace and was doing a fine job of running parallel with them on the ground.

Kagome glanced back behind her, and wondered when she'd next see the sister priestesses. Of course, now they really were her sisters.

"What's wrong Kagome?" Inuyasha asked in a soft tone. He seemed to be filled with more emotions when in his human form.

"It's just… We didn't really get to say good-bye." Kagome said.

"It's not like we're going to be gone forever. Once Edo's safe, we'll go back." Inuyasha said matter-of-factly.

"I know." Kagome replied. But she couldn't keep the dark thought from coming to her that she wouldn't see the sisters for a very long time. She wondered where her apprehension was coming from, and Kagome remembered Rin's words.

Well, Rin had been wrong right? She was returning to Edo, and it had been just a week more than a month. So there, she kept her promise… Right?

But, as the trio approached Edo, Kagome's dark thoughts continued to flood her mind. She realized it was from the barrier that they were quickly approaching and grimaced. She didn't want to walk willingly into something so dark and evil.

As they were on the outskirts of the village now, they could see Sesshomaru's Bakusaiga lighting up the sky.

"Keh! Least we know Sesshomaru is still alive," Inuyasha said.

"But he's been fighting for a week straight," Jinenji replied.

Kagome turned to look back towards Sesshomaru. She could just about make out his white form after the last flash of lightening had danced across the sky.

"Kagome, put on the mask," Jinenji said. "We are about to pass through the barrier."

"What about you, Kirara and Inuyasha?" Kagome asked looking over towards Jinenji's form and he was straining to keep up with them.

At the mention of her name Kirara roared an uncanny assurance at Kagome.

"I'll be fine, and I can look out for them." Jinenji replied.

"Inuyasha you should take the facemask. In your human form, I doubt you'll be able to hold off this evil." Kagome said seriously.

"Keh! I'll be fine, you wear it." Inuyasha replied.

Kagome groaned in outrage and pain. She'd started to feel a little better, she was not as sluggish as he had felt upon waking. Yet, the fight between them had drained her of what little energy she'd recovered. Really he could be so stupid sometimes! Likely she'd be fine because she could purify whatever it was that knocked out everyone else. Kirara was a demon, that might afford her some form of protection, and she already knew Jinenji wasn't affected. But with Inuyasha, in his current state, there was no way he wouldn't succumb to the spelled powder.

Frustrated beyond measure, Kagome tied the facemask on her head preparing herself. She could tell they were only a few strides from the barrier. The air was getting thicker and she could almost feel the darkness overflowing from Edo. She looked back at Inuyasha's face and the look of determination that had come over it. Sighing, she forced the tiredness that overwhelmed her down and willed her limbs to move. She grabbed her bow from her shoulder and nocked an arrow against whatever Sesshomaru was attempting to fight.

* * *

Sesshomaru had been weakening ever since Jinenji had left to fetch his brother and Kagome. He knew he could stay awake for days at a time, and had proven this to himself on many occasions. But he hadn't pushed himself so hard in such a long time. He growled inwardly, since Naraku, he'd become weak, something he'd once sworn never to do again.

Each day was worse than the previous one. He could feel himself slowing with each volley that the enemy sent his way. He had attempted to discern the enemy's location, but no matter what he did, he couldn't sense their presence.

It was almost as if they were shrouded from him. He cursed inwardly, and wished he'd paid more attention to what Kaede had said to him about dark priestesses. But, he'd been confident and cocky like always. He had Bakusaiga and Tenseiga, what could go wrong? Aside from Rin, anyone who died he could revive. And that was _if_ he wanted to.

It hadn't been a constant thought in his mind but he again cursed his father for giving Inuyasha Tetsusaiga. Inuyasha wasn't here. Sesshomaru was. If only he had the sword, he would be able to cut away this barrier and find the culprit in a heartbeat.

Speaking of which, where was his idiotic brother? Why had Jinenji been gone a whole week? Was it a week? He'd thought so. He'd counted the sunrises and sunsets. There had been thirteen since Jinenji had left. Why had it taken so long? Surely the fire-cat could easily find where his damned brother and the miko were hiding in less time than a week.

He set down atop of Kaede's hut to rest. He'd been doing this every few hours or so, just to sit unburdened for a moment and regain his strength. That and to ensure that Rin was still safe. He hadn't noticed any harm come to her from her enchanted sleep and he meant to keep it that way.

The darkness that enveloped the village attempted to take control of his mind. He'd laughed inwardly at the idea that anyone had tried to control him. The last person who'd attempted to control his actions had been Naraku, and Sesshomaru had hunted him down, only ending his quest when he'd ensured the despicable hanyou was no longer of this earth. Still, whatever had attempted to sway him had been wise in their choices.

He'd been shown horrible scenes. Some were true difficult memories of the past, but most were fabrications. Images that he knew to be fake because they held no substance, had no smell, but they'd drawn upon his fears. He'd seen Rin's lifeless body once again, just as she'd been in and directly after her contact with the Meido, but this time it had been the villagers to kill her. They'd covered her small body with lashes, beaten her until both of her eyes had swollen shut and then stabbed her in the gut repeatedly until her intestines dragged upon the ground. Yet the entire time she'd screamed his name. At first he'd been brought up short by the scenes he'd been shown, and fell to his knees. But then he'd come to his senses. He'd smelled for Rin and found her where he'd left her outside of Kaede's hut. He smelled no blood, no intestines, viscera or any harm done to her at all. He listened for her heartbeat and for her breathing. Both were deep and evenly paced, she was just deep in sleep.

At that he'd sighed out his relief, and it was then that he'd cast off the darkness that had overwhelmed him. Except, he knew that he'd angered whoever had attempted to control him. They were livid, and he could feel their fury on the wind. Not only had he not succumbed to the voices whispering to him to kill every villager, and raze the village to the ground, he'd cast off the voice as well.

He had been riddled with a feeling he could only describe as fear ever since the first villager had succumbed to the darkness. He felt after it had retreated from him and grown and grown, until eventually the same dark presence had completely enveloped one of the village men. Sesshomaru had been forced to watch in horror as the man's sleeping form had been lifted into the air and devoured. There five meters above the ground, the man hung weightless and an aura of darkness had swallowed him up. Sesshomaru watched as small invisible mouths ate the man's flesh before his very eyes. Not even his bones were safe from the darkness, and all that fell to the ground was his hakama, fingernails and a few strands of hair. Apparently, these items hadn't been appealing to whatever had eaten him.

This particular man had been unpleasant, his wife had died during a demon attack before Inuyasha had awoken, and he'd never been the same since. He'd been hardened, harsh and cruel to any that crossed his path. Sesshomaru couldn't say that he felt poorly about the man's fate, except that he was honor bound to protect the villagers. He felt as if he'd failed in his duty, and it was not a pleasant feeling. Plus, he worried that the same fate would befall Rin. Before Rin had found him, she'd been forced to live through many bad experiences. If the darkness needed something to latch onto, which he'd inferred from its first choice of victims, then he was terrified that all of Rin's good memories wouldn't be able to outweigh the bad.

Whatever it was that was targeting the village didn't have a form or shape. He hadn't been able to touch, smell or even sense anything for a week. To his eyes he seemed to be fighting ghosts, yet, when he'd used Tenseiga in the first day, he hadn't beaten back this invisible foe. He had expected the darkness to fall to the sword that could cut those not of this world. That was when Kaede had said that Kagome was needed. She could see those which others could not. She would be able to discern who the foe was, and fight it.

At this Sesshomaru had felt his pride wounded. A mere mortal girl – able do to something which he could not? Impossible. But then he'd thought about all their encounters. She'd removed Tetsusaiga, survived his poison, been hit with the Kaze no Kizu, survived endless encounters with random youkai, and beaten Naraku, she'd even taken an arrow in the back if Shippo was to be believed. Since he had unlocked the sealing of her powers by Magatsuhi, Kagome's reki had only grown. He'd felt it when they'd rid a village of an entire family of moths a few months back. She was stronger than he'd ever seen a miko be. Well, not stronger than _her_.

Sesshomaru was reminded of Ena and all her feistiness. The hime would have been able to defeat this foe no problem. Then she'd send some witty remark Sesshomaru's way, about how he wasn't up to the task.

Sesshomaru snorted at his memory of the hime. Yes, she'd be able to beat this darkness no problem. If only he knew where to find her…

He felt the darkness amassing once more and rose into the air, he flew off of Kaede's hut towards the heaviest presence of evil. His muscles were tiring, and he couldn't keep protecting the village in his current state. As he passed Miroku's hut, he saw Jaken's unconscious form and frowned. He almost missed the toad's presence. Jaken was always had such faith in him. He was always so sure that Sesshomaru would triumph. Even in those seldom moments where Sesshomaru had felt fear, Jaken had always been confident that Sesshomaru would be victorious. He had taken solace in the kappa, more often than many realized, and he found himself missing him more than he'd thought possible. He shook his head, ridding himself of such caring thoughts and continued towards the darkness.

Sesshomaru scented the air. He couldn't smell the foe, and it was driving him crazy. He pushed his youki outwards to sense the presence of whatever he was supposed to be fighting. As he closed his eyes and continued to push his aura, Sesshomaru felt movement to his right. He opened his eyes and jumped to the left in surprise. An arrow full of purifying reiki whizzed past him; exactly where his right shoulder had just been, and landed directly behind him above a hut. It came from the direction he'd been trying to sense not a moment before.

A wave of purification exploded behind him, and he brought his arm up to shield his face. After a few moments, the purity ceased and he dropped his arm and looked up, several pieces of flimsy paper were falling to the ground like leaves lost in the wind. Paper?

Sesshomaru let out his breath in a huff. So he'd been fighting ghosts after all? Shikigami controlled by a puppet master hiding in the shadows? But why was there a distinct scent of youki? Typically Shikigami came from mikos, not youkai. Until the arrow had struck what he could not see, he hadn't smelled paper at all. Now he did, and it was slightly burned, but he also smelled youki mixed in with reiki. Intriguing.

As Sesshomaru was lost in his thoughts, four more arrows twanged across the sky, purifying the evil shikigami that had been attempting to devour the villagers.

Sesshomaru turned his head slightly over his right shoulder and looked to where the barrage had been released from. He knew he would find Inuyasha, the fire-cat, Kagome and Jineji. He was almost relieved. But as he took in the sight and scent before him he froze.

There atop Kirara flying above the village was Ena. It couldn't be. He hadn't seen her in so long. He'd just thought of her, and he was exhausted. His eyes were playing tricks on him. He blinked once, twice and looked again.

This time, he saw who it really was. Inuyasha had taken his human form for the night of the new moon. He appeared to be swaying where he sat, trying to stay conscious. He was grasping the woman in front of him as if his life depended on it. There seated before him, was the miko, Kagome. But she bore a significant resemblance to Ena. She was wearing Ena's armor, face mask, and had Ena's quiver over her shoulder, even the pack that she'd carried.

Sesshomaru couldn't believe his eyes. In fact he didn't want to and instead believed that he was exhausted from defending the village for a week straight with no food, water, rest or companionship. Perhaps he'd lost his mind? Yes, that must have been it.

Except then he took in her scent as the breeze whipped his hair around his face. While his eyes could deceive him, his nose could not. She smelled distinctly like Ena. Not a hundred percent like her, but close enough. He knew who sat atop the fire-cat, and who Inuyasha clung to.

In that moment he was furious. That she would leave him for his brother? But, no…no, that didn't make any sense. They had left to get Kagome. The only way that Ena could be here in Kagome's place was if she and Kagome _were_ the same person. Sesshomaru was definitely not willing to make that connection.

"Ooo-hooo! Finally come out to play fox-hime?" A strange voice called from the forest on the outskirts of town to the east. Except it wasn't one voice, but it sounded like three voices were entwined together. It sounded feminine and masculine all at the same time.

Sesshomaru glanced towards the voice, but there he saw nothing. He narrowed his eyes.

"I don't know who you're calling 'hime,' but I'm here to get rid of you." The girl atop Kirara shouted back.

"Well, that's convenient; because I'm here to destroy you, little bitch." The three voices replied.

"Oh yeah? Come and face me like a man then!" The girl roughly replied.

At her words an arrow shot out, not where the voice had come from, but instead from the left. Sesshomaru didn't notice the arrow until it was too late, and he was too far away to stop it. He watched as it took Inuyasha in the left shoulder and the force of it knocked him off of the fire-cat.

The girl turned and had a look of shock on her face, and she screamed in utter desperation, "Inuyasha!"

Sesshomaru was stunned. That didn't happen to him often, so it felt exceedingly unfamiliar. All the planning and scheming that this invisible foe had done, attacking the village with shadows and Shikigami. The week that he had defended this village against the darkness, and within moments, there went his brother. Alive one moment, then he was plummeting to his death in the next.

Sesshomaru watched unable to move as Jinenji jumped into action and caught Inuyasha before he fell more than twenty feet down. The girl looked down at the large hanyou, holding the smaller one. Then she spun around and closed her eyes. Sesshomaru watched as a look of concentration covered her features and she nocked another arrow. She opened them and shouted, "I'm going to kill you for that."

The voice in the darkness laughed. "It's all a game hime. Just a _game_. And you have to play by the rules, or she will **die**." The voices harmonized, echoing out across the village mercilessly.

"Who will die?" The girl yelled back.

"Does it matter?" Laughed the voice.

"No," the girl breathed out. Sesshomaru barely heard it over the wind and the laughter of whoever was behind the attack on the village.

"Kirara, go down," the girl said.

"Come now, or she will die." The voice said angrily.

The girl looked down again at Jinenji's ministrations on Inuyasha then told Kirara to head toward the edge of the forest.

"Take care of him," she said yelled back to Jinenji as she left in a flurry of smoke and embers from the fire-cat's paws.

Sesshomaru glanced down at his fallen brother and Jinenji. He could see that the larger hanyou was doing everything he could. Somewhere deep within Sesshomaru's chest his heart gave a backflip. He was going to lose his brother.

He'd never really called the man who was dying, _brother_. He'd always called him the half-breed, or hanyou, or a taint on his family's honor. But now that he was dying, he regretted all he'd said. He'd said that Inuyasha's life was his, of course, he had. Sesshomaru was the eldest after all, all those under him in age fell under his protection. But he hadn't meant it. Not once he'd learned that Tetsusaiga was what kept his brother from turning into a monster. After that discovery he'd stopped his aspirations for his father's sword. This of course was long before that he'd learned to respect Inuyasha.

Sesshomaru had been most impressed by the mission that Inuyasha had taken upon himself – to complete the jewel. That particular undertaking was an honorable one. That had been around the time that Rin had come into Sesshomaru's life when he'd realized that he didn't hate his brother. He didn't like him, but he didn't hate him. That, in and of itself was baffling.

He'd watched his brothers group, and even assisted them, working towards the common goal of defeating Naraku. At the end, he'd almost held something akin to affections for his brother and his companions. But now, the man was dying, and he'd never get to tell him what he really thought of him. That he didn't really think it was so horrible to call him family.

Sesshomaru shook himself. He was a great and powerful demon in his own right. He was the wielder of Tenseiga. His hand rested for a moment on the aforementioned sword as he was lost in thought. He decided in that moment that if his brother died, he wouldn't stay dead for long.

He looked down again before following in the fire-cat's wake out of the village. He realized quickly that they were heading towards Inuyasha's previous resting place attached to the Goshinboku. They were also moving towards the well, the mysterious well that had disappeared during the final battle with Naraku. The well that had reappeared after the fight with Naraku had been concluded. Only a few knew of its importance, and Sesshomaru worried if this foe knew of its importance to Kagome. He grasped Bakusaiga more tightly as he flew towards voices raised in the distance. 

* * *

Kagome was livid, furious, angry. She didn't have enough adjectives to describe her emotions. She was broken inside. Inuyasha could be so _stupid_. If he had just taken the facemask… but then no, he probably still would have gotten shot with the arrow. But maybe he would have been able to jump out of the way?

Kagome didn't realize it, but she was crying. She lifted a hand up to her face to brush bangs out of her eyes, and found them covered in tears. Her face darkened and she wiped them away.

"Faster Kirara," she said determined to take care of this menace and then return to Inuyasha's side. She trusted Jinenji with all his botanical knowledge, but she trusted her twentieth century medical knowledge combined with the feudal one much more.

"Take me down to the well." Kagome said leaning forward so she could speak into Kirara's ear. She hadn't let go of the arrow in her right hand yet, and held it desperately, ready to release her rage in one fell swoop. There the arrow tingled her fingers, and Kagome was reminded of what Inuyasha had said. That her quiver and arrows were meant to rival that of Tetsusaiga. She had a feeling she was beginning to understand what that meant as the arrow hummed in tune with her emotions.

Kirara touched down next to the well and Kagome jumped off. She circled around the well, placing it at her back, and closed her eyes in concentration as she pulled back on the bowstring. The feathers of her arrow tickled her cheek as she pulled back tightly. There. The arrow itself seemed to tell her that she'd found her target and a thrum went through her fingertips. She took a deep breath then let it out slowly, aiming towards the forest leading to the Goshinboku, there, she opened her eyes, and released.

A wave of pink light streaked across the sky and exploded in a wave of purity as it hit another shikigami-made creation just this side of the forest. Paper flew across the landscape like confetti in the breeze. But Kagome knew she'd missed. She'd just happened to hit one of the minions of whoever this was. She had missed the mastermind behind the attacks.

"Why are you doing this?" Kagome asked to the air. She felt fairly stupid talking to an unseen foe. What she wouldn't give to look into her foes face. She swayed where she stood; she was weak from the cost of her arrows on her soul. These new arrows in particular seemed to drain her more than her others ever had. Kagome prayed to whatever Kami's were listening that she'd have enough energy left to purify whoever had killed Inuyasha.

No, he wasn't dead. She wouldn't let herself believe it. He was alive, and after she took care of this monster, she'd be back at his side. Everything would be fine. Before they went back to the Harmony Shrine, maybe they would stop by and see Miroku and Sango. Perhaps even Shippo? Then, before she knew it, they would be back at the Shrine, and Inuyasha and Momiji would be back to their antics while Botan would be schooling Kagome in the way of the bo.

The wayward thought helped her stand firm against her unseen foe. She smiled and knew that no matter what, she had a strong family base to support her. No matter what happened here and now, she would be alright. She would have her family, and they were strong. They would survive. So would Inuyasha. Resolved she stood firm.

The only response she got was the appearance of six brightly colored orange and grey moths that flew in dizzying circles overhead. They appeared out of thin air and dropped a red powder over hers and Kirara's heads. Kagome purified the air around her body and subsequently wasn't affected by the powder at all, but Kirara was. She roared and bucked several times throwing Kagome forwards to the ground before exploding in a fiery ball and transforming back to her kitten-like form.

"Kirara!" Kagome gasped, after having the wind knocked out of her, she crawled over to the small cat. But Kirara didn't move. She looked at her for a moment, but she could still see the easy rise and fall of her chest. She didn't appear to be dead, just knocked out, like the rest of the village.

Kagome stepped in front of Kirara's prone form in a protective stance. She again closed her eyes and attempted to focus on the centermost part of the darkness while stringing another arrow to her bow. The arrow almost vibrated in anticipation and Kagome raised her eyebrow at it. 'Ready to go are you?' she asked silently to her arrow.

"Pull back on that arrow any farther and she dies." The evil voice spoke behind her.

Kagome swung around to her left, never pulling back farther on the string, but not releasing it either. She stayed stock still holding the arrow delicately in a half pulled manner and watched in horror as the voice made its way out from the forest and revealed itself to her.

The figure was hooded in dark grey, and Kagome could see dark yellow eyes looking at her with malice. Kagome was used to looking into caring amber eyes, but these appeared so evil, and were jaundiced a sickly yellow that made her nauseous just looking at them. But perhaps that was because she was so weak. Then again, perhaps not.

The figure shrugged off the grey cloak it was wearing and Kagome saw a beautiful blonde demoness standing in front of her. The jaundiced eyes were almost too much and overwhelmed the otherwise pretty heart shaped face that leered at her. The demoness had a nose that seemed too small and lips that were pursed in her direction. She was wearing a set of blue pleated o-yoroi. They were very similar to Kagome's she noticed, the demonesses armor had blue plates edged with black and she had a light red obi tied around her waist. In it, on her left side her obi held a sword, again almost a copy of Kagome's also with an intertwined with a grey and dark blue silk tsuka and a bright yellow and faded red plated sheath.

"How perfect, you decided to wear your armor, hime. You did show me how to make mine after all." The demoness said.

"Who are you?" Kagome asked.

"As if you don't know!" The demoness scoffed.

"I don't." Kagome replied.

"Playing coy was never your strong suit. But, how fitting that we are matching tonight! We are sisters after all aren't we? How kind the fates are that we have reunited. Know this Kagome, you will not last the night, you shall die in your pretty armor! And, how fortunate that Sesshomaru can witness your death, and on the sidelines too! Why, it just feels like old times! I couldn't have planned it better myself." The figure cackled.

Kagome realized that while the form in front of her was that of a woman, she also possessed two male voices. They were combined together in an eerie manner that sent shivers down her spine. It was unnatural and evil. Whoever this had been originally, they were not a demon, but they had clearly merged to form the monster standing in front of her. She was strongly reminded of Naraku, as her arm quivered still holding her halfcocked arrow.

"Who are you, really?" Kagome asked far more calmly than she felt. She didn't like that this woman seemed to know her, yet, she was sure she'd never met them.

Kagome felt for Sesshomaru. The demoness had said he was near; she was _not_ going to purify him by accident. She doubted that he'd let her live if she even came within an inch of him. He'd seemed to become more relaxed in the few years after the defeat of Naraku, but she doubted his benevolence if he came too close to her sacred arrows.

"Feigning ignorance? It doesn't become you hime. You know who I am, and what you took from me. You took away Uta. So now I will take away all you cherish. Inuyasha took away Ryota's family. And _he_ took my life. It's only fitting that he be here, and witness what I'll do to you." The three voices said with utter malice and pointed at where Kagome felt Sesshomaru.

The blonde demoness made Rin appear from the darkness. A very large shikigami moth approached carrying the child and set her down about twenty feet to the left of Kagome. Kagome glanced at the girls sleeping form, while blinking the sweat that had begun to drip down her head out of her eyes. Her arm began to visibly shake and she tried to steady herself.

Rin had no idea what was going on. She didn't know she was in mortal danger. But Kagome knew she couldn't let anything happen to her. She knew Sesshomaru would go crazy if anything happened to his daughter. Kagome had seen it, that somewhere deep inside of him; he cared about her like no other. Knowing this, Kagome couldn't let anything happen to Rin; she knew if anything befell Rin, Sesshomaru would be broken.

Kagome wavered where she was standing. She didn't remember the last time she'd held an arrow for this long before and she didn't know how much longer she would last standing here. She was already twitching, the arrow seemed to feed off of her own strength and she found that she couldn't keep her bow-arm up. The previous arrows had weakened her so much, her eyesight was blurring at the edges. She was going to lose against this yellow demoness – and soon. But she couldn't let that happen. And she definitely couldn't let Rin fall to this evil woman.

"Now prepare yourself," the blonde demoness said. "I almost envy you. You will see Uta before I do."

Kagome watched as the demoness strung an arrow on a black bow she pulled out of thin air and released, aiming at Rin.

Kagome didn't think, she just responded. She finished pulling back her own half-nocked arrow and fired with all her remaining strength. The power that erupted felt different and her right arm tingled far more so than usual. She watched as the arrow streaked across the night sky towards a brilliant pink, but in its trail, green leaves could be seen mixed in with her reiki. Kagome had aimed just in front of where Rin's slumped form lay. She hoped her arrow would act as a shield as she'd done several times before for Inuyasha when he'd been knocked down.

Without hesitating another second she grabbed behind her, grasping another arrow from her quiver and faced the demoness. She didn't aim, she just let the arrow do its work, it seemed to understand and made her fingers tingle even more. She pulled back hard on the bowstring and released in a matter of seconds.

Time seemed to slow, as Kagome watched. As soon as her second arrow was away, she looked towards Rin's slumped form. She realized that the first arrow she'd shot had worked. A reiki-filled shield hung around Rin's body, and the shield glittered with the green leaves, the same leaves she'd seen in the arrows wake. It was as if within the shield itself the green leaves were held there, suspended and immobile. She signed in relief at the sight, Rin was protected. She was safe, she would live. Kagome smiled.

That was when she felt it. Kagome was hit one, two, three, and her body was thrown backwards. Kagome staggered and attempted to remain standing, but in doing so she took several steps back. She felt the foreign objects take their places just above where her armor protected her heart. Time seemed to slow down even further and Kagome glanced down at herself. She wasn't hit with just one arrow; it felt as if she'd been stabbed by many. Kagome tried to breathe but instead choked out blood. Her mind tried to protect her, but eventually it revealed what she wanted to see – three arrows were buried in her body. They seemed equally spaced out one hitting just above her heart, one under her chin and the other just below her right shoulder.

She backed up again in a final attempt to balance herself, but instead, she tripped over Kirara's unconscious form and felt herself falling backwards. She braced herself to hit the ground fairly hard, but thought vaguely that she should have hit it by now. Instead she kept falling. She looked up, but realized only a moment too late that her foot had caught not only Kirara, but the lip of the well too. She was falling down into its depths, she reached out trying to right herself and instead she felt her head hit the edge of the well. Her vision darkened to black and Kagome could think no more.

 **A/N: This chapter took a lot more time to write. Mostly because school has started and I'm in several difficult classes, I'm only ¾'s time, but it's still a lot, second semester physics, genetics and Native American philosophy, pretty heavy stuff.**

 **Once again, don't forget to download the mystery gift on your Pokémon ORAS or XY game, and you'll get a free Celebi this month! Hooray! Go twenty years of Pokémon. (YOU ONLY HAVE 'TIL 3/24!)**

 **As for my story, Oh no! Kagome's fallen down the well, situation looks pretty dire! Any thoughts from my loyal readers out there? I'd love to hear from you guys. Thanks so much for all the favorites, reviews and follows, I appreciate every single one! I hope to get the next chapter out later this week too, and get the next one in the works!**

 **Lots of love from,**

 **Kajatk8**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Thank you to my superb reviewers: **LunAmooN23** , **Nyght elf** , **shadow miko** , **o0-SilverMoon-0o** , **MirrorFlower** **and DarkWind** , **Wren210** , **imaginesakura**.

And a special thank you to **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

Just as I was about to post I read saw that these countries had visited my story this month, let's give them all a warm welcome! *Claps*: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Bahrain, Philippines, Romania, Mexico, Poland, Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, France, Austria, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Peru, Ireland, Iceland, Croatia, Sweden, Bahamas, Netherlands, Hungary, India and Taiwan. Eat your heart out Stephanie Meyer, I'm read in 28 freakin' countries!

 **Chapter 9. Aftermath**

Sesshomaru cursed inwardly for hesitating so long to make up his mind and finally follow the enigmatic girl riding the fire-cat. Of course he would revive Inuyasha with Tenseiga. There was no reason why he wouldn't. Why in the world had the thought of his brother's death struck him so…emotionally? Especially when it wouldn't be final? He didn't know. He shook off his troublesome thoughts, dismissing them for what they were, his over-exhausted mind at work.

He sped on following Kirara's trail towards the well. He was speeding along as fast as he could despite his weakening body and to the outside observer he appeared to fly over the ground. He moved with an otherworldly elegance that just reverberated inhuman grace – that was of course before he unknowingly crashed into a barricade.

'Another barrier?' he cursed again. He truly was losing his strength, if he unknowingly ran headlong into a barrier. He looked around and saw that his eyesight was losing its crisp focus. He jumped back rubbing his arms against the purity he'd run full into. He focused his slowing mind, and narrowed his eyes looking for any weakness in the faintly glowing lavender barrier.

After a few moments of scouring he found what he was looking for; just there about ten feet to his right at knee height he could see a flicker of light. While the rest of the barrier was hardly noticeable, this single spot was distorted, indicating weakness. He smiled and pulled out Bakusaiga aiming at the slight irregularity. He was glad he had paid attention to Ena back then, she had taught him this particular trick. Every spell had a weakness, one just needed to locate it. He brought Bakusaiga up and swung with full strength at the distorted spot.

Immediately upon contact there was an explosion where Bakusaiga's green lightning met with lavender. A noxious white smoke billowed outwards from where he'd struck. Sesshomaru was pushed back by the force of the blast and he braced himself, waiting for the smoke to dissipate.

However, it did not. He smirked at the idea of someone trying to poison him, better youkai had tried. However, as he looked on, he realized that was not its intent. In fact the smoke continued to flow out of the weak point he'd struck, and displayed intelligence as it morphed into the forms of animals. Ravens, snakes and moths took shape from the smoke and flowed outwards encircling him.

They spit balls of reiki and darts of poison and Sesshomaru leapt into action. He dodged and parried where he could, and he struck with a full swing of Bakusaiga to shield himself where he could not. They moved with an eerie grace, and it was like no animal he'd ever seen. Yet, they did not smell of demons either. The birds dive bombed him from above, the snakes attempted to trip him at his feet and the moths wove in between the fray sloughing off a blue powder wherever they went. As he took the first breath of air after the moths had coated him, his vision tilted uncharacteristically sideways. 'The powder must be spelled with sleep to affect me,' he thought drunkenly. He needed to end this battle, _now_.

He wanted to finish it. He raised his sword-arm above his head and struck in a counterclockwise circle. Spinning all the way around gracefully until he was back to facing the lavender shimmer where he had started. He hoped to destroy all of the smoke-formed creatures in one go. He put as much of his youki into the swing as he felt he could, though it was becoming difficult to stand up straight and he felt mildly intoxicated. He had to be careful, clearly this battle wasn't over and yet, he was almost completely drained.

As the lightning cackled and cracked against the sky it met the smoke and the wispy animals dancing in the wind. They were destroyed upon contact with his swing and small burned pieces of paper fluttered down around him. He watched as Bakusaiga continued to arc into the cloud of billowing smoke, until finally his attack and the smoke subsided. He narrowed his eyes and frowned at the sight, more Shikigami? How many more of these tricks must he wade through before he met their creator?

His vision swam and the world tilted again for him, this time, his vision spun sideways with afterimages. He sank to his knees and willed his body to expel the poison. Spinning he decided, had _not_ been a good idea. He had only ever felt this inebriated a handful of times, and he would be truly ill if the symptoms didn't soon subside.

"Enough," Sesshomaru said to the air. He wouldn't disgrace himself so far as to puke on a battlefield. He was no greenhorn, ready to spill his guts at the first sign of trouble. He forced himself to stand and taking a deep breath he walked forward determinedly.

He thrust Bakusaiga into the shimmering spot and twisted his arm violently to the right forcing youki through the barrier's weakness until he felt it give. Once it quivered again, he tried something he hadn't since he'd had Tokijin. Sesshomaru narrowed his focus and expelled youki from his body, down his arm and into the blade, forming a Soryuha. The barrier quivered for a moment, and then died. The image of an emerald dragon-headed Soryuha continued to arc in a semi-circle against the sky until the entire barrier fell away in a dance of vibrant green and purple colors.

"Hnn," Sesshomaru was pleased at the results. He'd felt useless in the intervening years since Naraku's demise, whiling away, protecting villages and twittering his thumbs. He hadn't had anyone even come close to rivalling his prowess in years. He smiled uncharacteristically wide; he hadn't realized how good it felt to see his own attack again – this time made with a sword from his own fang. It felt right to fight with his full potential. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, his vision was still doubled at the edges, but it had cleared somewhat in the aftermath of his attack.

Sesshomaru had wasted enough time, and he sped on. He thought he could sense an old enemy ahead, but no, Kuriko was gone. He'd killed her himself, in his youth. He still remembered her eyes when she realized she'd been defeated. It'd been his first kill of a woman, and he wouldn't soon forget the look or the feeling that came over him from the battle. She had deserved what he'd done to her, deserved that, and then some. Nonetheless he'd discovered the killing of women to be distasteful, whenever he could avoid it, he had. Still, he didn't like thinking that an enemy from years long gone by was still alive. Yet, he thought he heard her sweet high voice.

He realized he'd heard that same voice before, but he'd been too exhausted to place it, and he'd been distracted at the time. He listened to that cackle of laughter on the wind but it wasn't the exact same voice he remembered. It had become marred with low male tones, and as he approached he caught whispers of a low conversation. He thought he heard a response, but he wasn't sure. He entered the meadow and his breath caught in his throat as he took in the sight that lay before him.

Whoever was wearing Ena's armor, he was _not_ going to admit to himself that it was Kagome, but _she_ was standing beside the well – her bow raised with an arrow half-nocked, but not fired. There was a cold looking demoness with yellow hair and yellow eyes standing just outside the copse of trees. She was garbed in a full set of blue o-yoroi and had a familiar looking sword on her hip. And there in the middle of everything, was Rin.

Rin, of course, _she_ was the bait. She was _always_ the bait, and Sesshomaru groaned at all the idiots who thought Rin was his weakness. Many found out completely differently, but they never lived to tell their tales. Maybe, that was the problem? That he left none alive? Perhaps the next one that attempted to take Rin's life, he'd let live? Just so they could spread stories of his destruction…? But no, then they would instead spread stories of his mercy.

He sighed and again shook his head to clear his thoughts. It seemed that his overtiredness was getting to him more than he thought. He could usually focus on an enemy when they stood in front of him. 'It must be the fatigue,' he found himself repeating in his head. There is no way he could be this weak. He couldn't seem to stay focused on the task at hand and continuously deviated from his goal.

Before he had a chance to move and rescue his wayward ward, the demoness spoke. "Now prepare yourself, I almost envy you. You will see Uta before I do."

The demoness said this while she pulled out a dark bow from thin air, strung an arrow and aimed at Rin. Sesshomaru wasted no time and launched himself into the air to stop the arrow in its path. However, before he had even made it halfway, the field burst with reiki. The arrow had come from the direction of the girl and it streaked across the sky. It was far more powerful that he'd ever felt from Kagome, and the arrow left shimmering green leaves behind it in its wake as it zoomed across the sky. Where it struck there was an eruption of brilliant pink light speckled with green. This light made a shield around Rin's prone form and for that he was grateful.

At that moment, there was no doubt in his mind who stood by the well. Only Ena could fire an arrow like that, she was the only priestess that he knew who had the power to imbue an arrow with both reiki and youki. And not just any youki either, but that of a fox. Sesshomaru's chest swelled with emotions he'd thought he'd kept bottled for centuries. He couldn't believe that now, after all this time, she had come back to him. He'd thought she'd been dead for centuries. How else could he explain her absence?

He spared a glance at the well and the girl who stood there, but she had already strung and fired another arrow at the demoness while he'd been contemplating his past. This one did not have the same strength, nor youki infused with reiki or leaves blowing in its wake. It was solely a pink-reiki infused arrow, and yet, it still spoke of Ena. He stood there transfixed by her arrow, and watched as the arrows passed each other midair. Time seemed to slow down, and the girl's arrow had barely left her bowstring when the arrow that the demoness fired split into several arrows and the girl by the well took all of them square in the chest.

No.

Time seemed to come to a standstill. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. From the look on her face neither could she. She had flown backwards at the impact and slowly looked down at herself unbelieving while attempting to stay upright. She tried to speak but instead violently coughed up blood. She put her hand up towards the arrow directly below her chin and her eyes widened. He looked on in horror as she took one more fateful step backwards and tripped.

Sesshomaru finally propelled himself forwards but of course it was too late and time knowing this, seemed to speed up, just to spite him.

He flung his arm out to catch her, but she had already slipped past his reach. By the time he made it to the well, she'd already fallen over the lip and deep into its depths. He glimpsed her face right before her head hit with a sickening thwack against one of the inner walls. After that the ground shook and there was an explosion as white light enveloped her body and shot straight out towards the sky.

Just like when So'unga came into this world from beyond the well, the white light streaked up and touched the stars. Within the well, he could feel an extremely powerful being putting up a great fight. The well seemed to reverberate, shaking the ground and struggling to spit the girl out. Likewise he felt holy powers push against restraints that he could not see. It felt like they were being propelled into the body within the well and its force was attacking the girl like a foreign object in a wound. The light continued to brighten and a blue cloud of the well's magick hit purifying reiki, both combined on impact and outshined even the sun in a daze.

The light became so bright that he was blinded for several moments. When he felt the light start to dim he blinked to clear his vision. He looked up and saw a flurry of green leaves creating a cyclone up and out of the well as a ghostly wind blew them skyward. The white light faded as soon as it had come, and darkness claimed the meadow again once again. The leaves lost their upward momentum and fell towards the earth. He was reminded of a puppet master cutting the strings on a marionette – there was no life left in them as they plummeted to the ground in a sad meandering dance. When the last leaf touched the ground, the well stopped reverberating and shaking and instead stood silent.

She was gone. Just like before.

 _Gone_.

His vision instantly cleared, mind coming into pristine focus as his thoughts turned swiftly to anger. He liked anger. It was clear, concise. There was no thought, only action, and a vast sense of accomplishment when allowed to pursue that anger to its fullest. He turned on his heel and strode towards his enemy, unleashing all his built-up wrath and fury from the past centuries onto his prey.

"You," he growled out savagely as he stalked towards the yellow demoness. She was skewered with a green feathered arrow. Blood freely flowed out of her chest and stained her blue armor a sickly shade of black. The arrow was still shining a pale pink, its futile attempt to purify the demoness, despite its owner being lost to time.

His heart sang a harmonious tune at the picture she made. It looked painful, yes, he liked that very much. He leered over his prey, demanding an explanation with his eyes alone.

"What's wrong Sesshomaru, are you afraid? Did I take away the one thing you held dear?" She choked, coughing and dribbling blood down her chin as she did so. The voices that she used were cracking under the sheer amount of reiki. Sesshomaru knew that she wasn't much longer for this world, and he felt robbed of his vengeance. If her pain wasn't meant to last, then he would have answers.

"Why?" He rumbled.

"Why? Ha-ha, why not? Consider it payment, for all the hurt you caused me."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, "How'd you survive?" He wanted to keep her talking, anything to force her to endure as much pain as possible.

"With the help of many different dark magicks. But all in all it was actually Ena that helped me out the most." She said, smiling as more blood trickled out of her mouth and awkwardly dribbled down her chin.

"She taught me how to focus, so I did. I focused on Uta. On revenge, and it worked. I called Metsikatsi. He along with Ryota combined within my dying spirit, and so Shanpan was born, the woman you see before you." She continued between her labored breathing and rasping chest wound. It sounded as if she had pierced a lung. Such a pity, those wounds were so tricky to heal.

"There is no woman, just an abomination," Sesshomaru said as he raised his hand cracking his knuckles and calling forth his poison, ready to deal the final blow. His sword was too good for her. He wanted to see firsthand the life flow out of her, something he should have done in the first place. He wanted to feel the slip of her innards and crack of her bones against his fingers for robbing him of a friend.

Yet, just as he began his strike, several ravens took flight from the forest behind her and completely covered her body. He was still going to swipe; not caring if he killed a few unruly birds, but several of them dive bombed him, and burst into flames as they struck the ground. He jumped back alarmed, but as he did so, he knew that Shanpan had escaped. He looked up and saw three feathers gently glide down towards him, only to be swallowed up by the flames below.

Though Shanpan was gone, the sickly voices filled the meadow and in laughter said callously "I've cursed her; she'll not remember who you are, or who she is. I decided to take everything away from you, just as you took _everything_ away from me."

He gripped his sword tightly and scowled. He wouldn't let her get away. He would seek revenge and he would end Kuriko, Shanpan, whatever disgusting name she called herself, for _good_... Except, now was not the time, he removed his hand from his sword, promising to get revenge and then find her, _Ena_.

He walked towards Rin's shielded body warily, and delicately held his hand out towards the barrier. His hand passed through like it wasn't even there, and his arm tingled with a familiar power. He was reminded of testing the waters in an onsen to make sure they weren't too hot. The barrier flowed over him, and it was calm and relaxing. He almost smiled, before remembering that Ena was gone, likely dead. If not dead, then… Did she remember him? Would she?

His face hardened as he walked forward, bent down and picked up Rin. She moaned in her sleep as he placed her in his arms, looking down at her peaceful face. He had to remember that though he may have lost Ena, not all hope was lost. He still had Rin, and she was safe. He pulled Rin closer towards him and gave her a little squeeze. She seemed to understand his gesture and she shifted comfortably into his pelt and let out a sigh of contentment.

He rose and left the barrier, leaving the comfort of Ena's presence. He forced himself to do this as he much rather would have just sat wrapped within her power like a snug set of armor; resting until he had regained his strength. He hadn't felt her in so long, and it offered him comfort and a type of wholeness that he hadn't felt for many years.

Nevertheless he kept moving forwards until he stood over the well and looked into its depths. No one was there. There was no body, no armor, pack, nothing. If it _had_ been Ena, nothing remained of her to reassure himself that she wasn't an illusion. That it wasn't just his mind playing tricks, or perhaps a spell showing him what he wanted to see. He sniffed the air, but all he smelled was bitter purity burning and biting at his nose. Nothing of her remained.

The only evidence that showed a battle had even taken place were the blood stains. Where the girl had been standing there was a pool of blood and a smattering trail that lead to the well. He looked on the inside wall of the well and noticed another streaking stain where she'd hit her head on her journey down. The blood tickled his nose, smelling sickly sweet and coppery, with a hint of jasmine. The scent tickled his nose and pulled on memories long since buried.

He heard a small noise and glanced down past his left foot, there the fire-cat lay mewling in pain. He had almost forgotten about her entirely, the girl had ridden away on her, yet she hadn't been in the battle. She must have been incapacitated early on before he got there. He squatted down, picked up the small cat and placed her in Rin's arms. Rin seemed to know the importance of the package she carried and she further curled into the fire-cat. Likewise, Kirara seemed to know she was being transported and stilled, but she still mewled and shifted in a pained manner. Sesshomaru thought he should get her looked at as soon as he got back to the village, yet he was loathe to leave.

Sesshomaru straightened and closed his eyes and taking in the few remaining snippets of the girls scent. Somehow it still wasn't exactly that of Ena, yet he knew of no other who could wield arrows like she. He took a deep whiff and steadied himself. Her arrows hadn't been the same either, only one possessed Ena's true strength, the other was more reminiscent of Kagome… Perhaps if she didn't smell exactly the same, then he would see her again? Would she know him if they met again? Would he know her?

He could only hope.

She'd survived once before when he thought she was dead, perhaps she would survive this too? He wasn't sure what made him think that; he wasn't a very optimistic person in general. If anything, he was a realistic-pessimist, just as she'd always accused him of being in the past. Possibly just seeing Ena (or thinking that he'd seen her) had made him hopeful, if only for a moment.

He held onto that thought as he forced himself to turn from the well with Rin and Kirara in his arms and he slowly walked back towards the village. He would hold out hope for as long as possible, for now he had to attend to Rin, the village and his potentially dead brother.

* * *

Sesshomaru mournfully approached the village with a somber expression. Jinenji hadn't spent much time around Inuyasha's brother, but he knew that look. Working as a healer, he knew when someone carried grief. It hunched men, made women and children weep, broke even the most stout-hearted warriors. He'd had that same look many times on his own face when whomever he was treating was beyond his assistance. If Sesshomaru's expression and the set to his shoulders were to be believed, then he carried a cart-load of grief.

Jinenji not sure exactly what to say, asked the only thing he could imagine to ask.

"What happened? Is Rin alright?" he said quietly.

"She is resting." Sesshomaru replied as he placed her sleeping form in front of Jinenji.

Jinenji noticed that Kirara was in Rin's arms and after assessing that Rin was merely asleep, he moved on to the obviously ailing cat.

"What happened to her?" Jinenji asked taking Kirara into his arms to treat.

"I do not know. I found her in that state." Sesshomaru said stiffly, voice full of emptiness.

Though his voice held no emotion, just the same as every other encounter they'd shared, Jinenji knew something was wrong. He finally identified what it was and stole himself to ask.

"Where is Kagome?" He asked hesitantly, poking and prodding Kirara to determine what had happened to her.

The fire-cat cringed and mewled continuously, but after Jinenji found the vibrant blue powder coating her, he reached into his pocket for a common remedy to most ailments. He crushed several dried leaves in his hands and rubbed the plant over the fire-cat's nose. The cat licked the powdered plant off and her thrashing slowed. Her breathing evened out and Jinenji sighed in relief. She was a close friend to the village and Kagome, and he would have hated to lose her.

Sesshomaru didn't answer for a long time. He just stood there impassively and quietly observed Jinenji while he worked. After Kirara's pains subsided Jinenji met Sesshomaru's eyes; and he was met with a cold look. After what seemed like minutes to Jinenji, Sesshomaru spoke calmly but he could tell there was a storm raging within the youkai.

"I don't know." Sesshomaru said.

Jinenji frowned. How could that be? Kagome had ridden Kirara and followed the prompts of the voice to leave the village. If Sesshomaru had found Kirara, why hadn't he found Kagome? He tried to use logic to his advantage and work out what had happened.

"Kagome left riding Kirara, if you found Kirara, was there truly no sign of Kagome?" Jinenji asked slowly. He didn't want to think the worst, that his friend was de-. No, he couldn't even think it. Kagome was a radiant ray of sunlight in an otherwise dark and cruel world. He wouldn't think the worst. Not yet.

Sesshomaru said nothing and slowly approached the still form of his brother lying just an arm's length away from Jinenji.

Jinenji followed his gaze and looked down in shame. No matter what he had tried to do, he was unable to save Inuyasha's life. The arrow had taken him directly above the heart, and he had bled out within minutes of being struck. Jinenji had worked on reviving him tirelessly until he noticed that his body had grown cold. Jinenji had never felt so useless in his life. He was ashamed. Inuyasha had rescued him, had saved him from the cruelty of villagers, had saved his mother, had welcomed him as a friend into his village, and yet, he couldn't even repay the small favor of staunching a wound.

Jinenji was a master of potions and herbs, concoctions and remedies. But the one thing he was unable to prevent was death. He had tried many times in the past to save children from a plague or epidemic, men from grave battle wounds, even a few mothers from losing their children and their own lives in childbirth. Yet, sometimes, the kami's willed it to be so, and no matter what he did, he lost the battle.

Jinenji still felt shamed whenever this happened. He felt such disappointment in himself. He knew he was not a god to wield the power of life and death in his hands, but he strived to save those under his care. Yet, he hadn't managed to do so. Not in this instance. He had failed.

Jinenji looked up at Sesshomaru; he wasn't sure what to say to him. Jinenji knew there was no love among the two brothers, but he had been around them enough to see there was a certain amount of respect that they shared. He also knew the burden of loss, particularly that of a family member. His mother still became extremely sad and melancholic whenever thinking of the loss of his father. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to lose a brother.

"I am sorry. I did all I could, but I couldn't save him." Jinenji said sadly. He knew it wasn't what Inuyasha deserved, or Kagome for that matter. Oh, Kami, he hadn't even thought of Kagome's reaction at all until this moment. He hid his face with his hands and thought he might start crying again. He'd tried to put on a brave face when he'd heard Sesshomaru approach and he'd dried his tears. But he could still feel them, lingering just behind his eyes, beyond his control.

A moment later he heard the sickening squish of blood spurting and he looked up to see that Sesshomaru had knelt down to remove the arrow from Inuyasha's body. He dropped the blood covered arrow on the ground, where it hissed and crumbled into dust before their very eyes. The dust was picked up when a small breeze blew through the village and carried them away. Jinenji watched Sesshomaru unsure of what to do. Sesshomaru abruptly stood and removed one of his swords from its scabbard with a steady 'shink.'

"Sesshomaru?" Jinenji asked slightly horrified, was Sesshomaru going to cut up his own brother into little pieces? Or perhaps he was going to deal Jinenji a death blow for not saving his kin? Jinenji was far too terrified to move and draw attention to himself, so he just sat there immobile. He watched as Sesshomaru's face became etched in concentration and his eyes hooded with a faraway look while he pointed at Inuyasha's body with his sword in hand. Then after only a breath he swung and Jinenji dove to the left to avoid the blow he thought was coming.

"What are you doing!?" Jinenji shouted while rolling away from Sesshomaru like Inuyasha had taught him to do and spinning to face his now-enemy. Jinenji stood in his best defensive stance, ready to fight, but far too scared to make the first move. To his surprise however, Sesshomaru re-sheathed his sword and raised his eyebrows at Jinenji.

"Reviving my… Reviving Inuyasha." Sesshomaru said. He turned then and sedately walked away.

Jinenji just stood and stared after him. His heart was racing and he peered curiously at Inuyasha's form. To his utter surprise, the wound had closed and Inuyasha's chest was rising and falling, he seemed to be in a deep sleep just like the rest of the village.

Jinenji spluttered; he didn't know what to say. Here he had attempted to save a life, yet Sesshomaru could recall the dead back to life! He'd never really believed Rin or Jaken when they spoke about Sesshomaru's father's sword, Tenseiga. But that must have been the sword that he'd used. He'd heard it possessed great powers to rival that of Tetsusaiga, except he'd never seen it in action. He'd always thought that Rin was just exaggerating like children are wont to do. Jaken was also untrustworthy when it came to Sesshomaru as he pretty much worshipped the ground that he walked on. Jinenji was utterly stunned and he thought of all the people he could have saved if only _he'd_ possessed such an awesomely powerful object.

From several feet away Sesshomaru's voice came, "How do we awaken the village?"

Jinenji looked up, Sesshomaru's back was to him but his head was slightly turned in his direction. Jinenji thought for a moment, his mind whirling and trying to remember what Kaede had said.

"I don't know, Kaede said Kagome was needed, but if she's gone... I don't know how to revive them, I've tried…" He trailed off hopelessly.

"Kaede said that Kagome was needed to put a stop to the culprit. Which she has done, whoever was behind the attack on the village has fled." Sesshomaru said.

"They did?" Jinenji replied. He was surprised by this, but then again, if Kagome was gone, then perhaps this was the price? His heart hitched and he could almost not breathe for a moment. He didn't want to think past today, so instead he focused on the here and now, and this conversation.

"Yes." Sesshomaru replied.

"Then we must find and destroy the focus that is keeping the villagers asleep. They may wake on their own, if the spell is broken." Jinenji said.

Sesshomaru nodded and walked away towards the outskirts of the village where Jinenji had felt a strong dark presence.

Slowly but surely, the village felt like it was being cleared of noxious gasses, which in a way it was. The air became lighter and more breathable. And with the lightening of the air, several villagers started to stir. Eventually the sun began to rise, and Jinenji watched in fascination as Inuyasha's black hair streaked white, his ears disappeared from the sides of his head and reappeared at the top in dog-form, and his nails grew into elongated claws.

'Just like me, except not. He's much more handsome…' Jinenji thought. His face darkened for a moment, before he frowned away the unbecoming thoughts. He was not angry with his mother or his father for his appearance. In fact, he was proud to be his father's son. He was far stronger than a regular man, he was able to protect his village and welcomed into an elaborately exclusive family. He shook off the dark thoughts, and felt the last remnants of the spell break.

When Jinenji felt the last bit of darkness leave from the village, several villagers started to stir. Many were malnourished and weak from their enchantment. He administered aid where he could and reassured scared children that surrounded him in front of Kaede's hut.

Kaede, like many of the villagers, believed that the best way to recover was a full stomach and had begun cooking almost immediately after reviving. She'd started a large pot of stew to feed the children who'd been left in her charge. Many other villagers followed suit and soon the smells of cooking fires and various dishes were carried on the wind.

Sesshomaru made his way back to Jinenji's side and they nodded to each other as they stood outside of Kaede's hut. Though neither of them spoke, they both knew they were waiting for the group to gather. They had much to discuss. They waited for Miroku, Sango and Jaken to join them, and for the last few of the villagers to come around. Rin, Inuyasha and Kirara some of the last few to wake, but all did eventually.

The first words out of Rin's mouth were "Where's Kagome?" and she was echoed not a moment later with Kirara issuing a demanding 'mew.'

Jinenji didn't know what to say, he was at a loss for words. All he knew was that she'd ridden away on Kirara, and Sesshomaru had followed, yet only he and Kirara had returned. Jinenji just looked plainly at Sesshomaru.

The rest of the group seemed to catch on and all eyes swung towards him.

"She is gone." Sesshomaru said slowly.

Rin made a sound in between an exclamation and a cry of dismay, turning to Jaken, she clutched him hard as she burst into tears.

The rest of the group waited for Sesshomaru to elaborate, but he didn't seem inclined to. Jinenji looked towards Inuyasha, he knew that the other hanyou possessed a fairly short fuse, and watched his face closely. Yet, even more surprising than a disappeared Kagome, was Inuyasha's expression of utter bewilderment. He didn't seem to grasp what was going on around him, and when he voiced these thoughts all of them looked at him curiously.

"Who are you people?" Inuyasha said gruffly his angry tawny eyes fixing on each face that stared back at him with looks of dismay.

Miroku spoke up, "Inuyasha, it's us, don't you remember?"

Inuyasha glanced about, his hand never straying far from grasping for Tetsusaiga. "I've never seen any of you before in my entire life. If you've done something to me, I swear you'll be sorry." He ground out angrily.

Jinenji was at a loss for words. He looked between Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. Sutra to his head, he didn't know who looked the worse for wear. He was sure that Sesshomaru knew more than he was letting on. It always seemed to be that way, and Jinenji had found that the youkai hardly ever offered up any information unless he was speaking to Rin or Jaken. Alternatively, Inuyasha's face was entirely bewildered and looked to and fro in utter terror at the prospect of being attacked.

"Inuyasha, do you know who I am?" Sango said gently.

Inuyasha glanced at her. "Keh, I don't know who you are. You're clearly a girl. And for some reason you're wearing the garb of a warrior. Whaddaya do, protect this village or something?"

Sango blanched. "Something like that. Here, let's go see Kaede, she'd love to see that you are okay."

"Who is Kaede?" Inuyasha's voice cracked, rising in apparent fright.

"She's the miko of this village, you know, Kaede-baa-chan? You often call her Kaede-baa-baa." Sango replied kindly, placing her hand on Inuyasha's arm, the one that kept grasping for his sword.

"Kaede-baa-baa?" Inuyasha said, obviously confused. A look of almost recognition passed over his face, before it was replaced with puzzlement.

"That's right, this way, follow me. She'll be so happy to see you, and I hear she's making stew." Sango lead the confused hanyou into Kaede's hut, and reappeared a few moments later. The men who had remained in the circle hadn't uttered a word, and instead just listened on in silence to Rin's sobs into Jaken's tunic.

When Sango returned she desperately grabbed onto Sesshomaru's sleeve and said, "Listen, I don't know what happened while we were asleep, but you better start explaining right _now_. What happened to Inuyasha? Why doesn't he remember us? And where is Kagome?"

Sesshomaru didn't say anything at all. He simply looked at her with cold eyes. Slowly he turned his head to Jinenji and subtly nodded at him.

Jinenji took this for, 'you first,' and began telling all he knew. How Inuyasha had taken an arrow in the chest, fallen from Kirara, and Kagome had been called away. Sesshomaru had followed Kirara and Kagome shortly after. Jinenji was left to try to save Inuyasha's life but…but…he had not been successful and Inuyasha had turned cold in his hands.

"If he died, how is he still alive?" Sango uttered.

Jinenji pointed to Sesshomaru's sword, "He used that after he returned with Rin and Kirara. Inuyasha was cold, but… the battle was over."

"Inuyasha died. Then I revived him." Sesshomaru said quietly. Everyone jumped; it appeared that they'd all but forgotten about the stoic white demon standing right next to them.

"Tenseiga?" Miroku said, surprised glancing at Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru tilted his head in the ghost of a nod.

"That still doesn't explain why he doesn't remember us," Sango said, her voice cracking with emotion and a stifled sob.

"They were cursed. Her name is Shanpan, an old enemy. She hoped the curse would erase their memories." Sesshomaru said. He gave the outward appearance of not caring at all what he was saying, but Jinenji knew it cost him dearly. He could tell that Sesshomaru was on the edge of collapse, and the state his brother was in had truly rattled him.

"What do you mean _they_ , Sesshomaru?" Miroku said carefully.

Sesshomaru replied in kind just as carefully, "Kagome and Inuyasha."

"Where is Kagome?" Sango said looking from Jinenji to Sesshomaru.

Jinenji didn't know what to do, and he raised his hands offering her a placating gesture. He honestly didn't know what had happened to the miko, and he glanced at Sesshomaru.

Sango turned her anger and exasperation full on Sesshomaru instead.

"... She is gone." Sesshomaru said glancing downwards, and Jinenji almost thought he looked remorseful.

"What do you mean _gone_?" Sango replied, her voice rising in anger. It was obvious to Jinenji that she'd had enough of the short clipped dialogue that Sesshomaru was so fond of.

"She took several arrows to the chest, and then fell in the well. There was a light, and she disappeared… She is gone." Sesshomaru said mysteriously.

Jinenji didn't really know the significance of the well like the rest of the group did, and he was slightly perplexed by this statement. Just because she'd encountered arrows, it didn't mean she would disappear. He didn't think anyone could survive from several arrows in the chest, but he glanced around at the group for an explanation. Instead of any words, all he saw were saddened faces surrounding him. It seemed that Sesshomaru had in fact delivered news of her demise, but he couldn't work out exactly how. In confusion he looked from one to another of his friends.

Miroku and Sango reached for each other somberly, as Sango burst into silent tears. Jaken was still grappling with Rin, who appeared to be holding all of Rin's weight up with his small frame. Jaken was holding her up as best as he could, but his legs were shaking and about to buckle. Yet, he didn't tell her to let go like he usually did when she grabbed him like a doll, instead he patted her back gently while he tried and failed to hold back his own extremely loud tears.

Jinenji had finally had it; he didn't know why the rest of them had decided that if Kagome had fallen down a well she was gone from their lives? Surely she was just sitting at the bottom of it, probably with a broken ankle, several arrow wounds and extremely angry for being left there while they stood in a circle discussing her fate. If they got to her in time, perhaps he could save her? Unlike with Inuyasha, he would work faster, quicker? Yet, when he voiced his thoughts the group appeared to have been hit with her enigmatic "death" all over again.

"She is lost." Sesshomaru said.

"What do you mean lost, _where_ is she?" Jinenji replied, slightly agitated at the lack of information he was receiving.

"She is lost… in time." Sesshomaru said.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Please review! I love the input, and seriously it keeps me writing. =) I respond to all reviews, sometimes twice if I forget even! And I will keep a dialogue open with you, if you don't like my direction.**

 **Something superbly irritated me today. And it's not just once, but in several fanfics I've read recently: chocked vs choked.**

 **To chock is to prevent the forward movement of (a wheel or vehicle) with a chock. I.e. supporting (a boat, cask, etc.) on chocks.  
To choke is to interfere with the respiration of by compression or obstruction of the larynx or trachea. I.e. she choked on her words, or a piece of bread.**

 **Please! Re-read your own fanfics! I know I'm not perfect, but it just kind of hurts my soul to read this happen. I'm imagining people up on chocks every time I read she chocked. I'm wondering how exactly that happened in a feudal fairytale…Okay stepping off my soap box… =)**

 **Other Pokémon news: The world's largest trading card mosaic has been revealed in Paris, featuring none other than Pikachu! (Go to for all the deets.) Essentially, the world's largest Pokémon card has been entered into the Guinness book of world records. Pretty freakin' cool right? Right? … Okay, not** _ **that**_ **cool. But still, as a hobbyist artist, I really appreciate the skill involved.**

 **Also, don't forget, next month on Pokémon ORAS or XY you can download Jirachi, a mythical Pokémon from April 1-24** **th** **. That's right; some freaky white, yellow and golden baby with an eyeball in its belly can be yours,** _ **freeeeee**_ **!**

 **Also, more Pokémon news, I've already pre-ordered Pokémon Sun and Moon. Yes, I'm just that much of a Pokémon fan. =P**

 **Happy reading,**

 **Kajatk8**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Thank you to my reviewers for their kind words and encouragement. You keep me clacking away with a smile: **LunAmooN23,** **o0-SilverMoon-0o, Nyght elf,** **MirrorFlower and DarkWind, Wren210**.

Additionally, I'd like to specifically thank **LunAmooN23** for their review, it was really sweet, I'd been having a bad day, and it lit me up with a smile. Since you couldn't wait for me to update, here you go! This one's for you. =)

Props go to the amazing **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta Reading!

 **Chapter 10. Vicious Pain and Lots of Sake**

Her first sensation was pain, warm, piercing and ever present. She was able to breathe but just barely. Her lungs were working overtime, yet despite her efforts, they were only taking in short and shallow breathes. Each time she took a breath, her chest whistled and she felt most of her air leaking out. She could tell from the rattle her chest made that she had punctured a lung. Possibly even in two places. Good news was, she was still alive. Bad news was, she had no idea how she'd been injured, or _where_ she was.

'How is that possible?' She thought. Her next thought was 'Wow, it's dark.' She realized her eyes were closed and slowly opened them. The light that filtered through wasn't much better. She appeared to be in a deep dark cave. She looked around herself, and all she saw were dark slate colored stones. She peered up, and almost blinded herself. The sun was just setting and the sky had succumbed to a mixture of pink, purple and orange hues. The clouds lazily passed her reflecting pastel tones, and she blinked trying to get her bearings. 'I'm in a hole in the ground. A deep hole in the ground…a well! I'm in a well…!'

'Great. How in the world did I get stuck in a darn well?' She thought stupidly.

The last thing I remember was… Was… She couldn't remember… Anything… Well that's weird. I should be able to remember _something_. 'Yeah, like how you got here for starters.' She grumbled to herself.

She tried to sit up, but the pain that laced through her body was unbearable.

"What in the…?" She spoke for the first time, and then she abruptly stopped, not recognizing her own voice.

She peered down her body and realized not only was she armored, but she was also wounded. Three arrows lined her body, and she touched one to make sure they were real. The arrow had barely moved but she gasped in pain. 'Yup, they're real alright!' Her brain told her. 'Next time don't freakin' touch them!'

"So I was in a battle. And I fell down a well?" She asked no one in particular, looking up slightly moving her head as little as possible. She considered this, quirking an eyebrow in thought.

She was extremely disconcerted. She didn't hear anything surrounding her but several muffled sounds. She closed her eyes and tried to listen, but no matter what, she couldn't make out what was happening on the surface above her.

"Right! Well… no use just sitting on your laurels. Time to get to work." If only she could figure out how to do that…

She tried to sit up again, but found she couldn't move her shoulders or head without experiencing extreme pain from the arrows. She gasped as pain lanced through her body, and finally succumbed back to her previous position of lying down. She watched several white butterflies dance several feet above her, oblivious to her plight or her pain as they chased each other in maddening circles.

She furiously tried to think what she could do to remedy her situation. Nothing came to mind as she took more notice of her clothing. Peering out of the corners of her eyes, she noticed she was armored as a samurai.

"Samurai?" She whispered.

The word sounded unfamiliar on her tongue, yet, she could think of no other word to fit the armor that she was dressed in. With her left hand she felt something poking her side, she moved it, and felt the handle of a sword at her hip. She reached her right hand over slowly out to her back where she felt several items poking her. She felt a quiver full of arrows and a pack. She also grasped something particularly sharp and brought it into her vision.

She screeched and dropped it, moving abruptly and screeching again even louder because of the pain that resonated through her chest. She had been lying on a jaw, an inhuman jaw to be exact, with rather large, pointy and dangerous looking teeth.

She was lying on several bones in fact, which were misshapen and grotesque. Nothing around her looked to belong to a human. She was extremely frightened and her heart was beating out a frantic rhythm in her chest.

'This is a dumping ground for bones! Is that why I've been placed here? I'm to just die of starvation, adding my bones to this pile over time?' She thought furiously.

"No, I will not become that." She said aloud with more courage than she felt.

With a lot of effort and pain she angled herself into a sitting position, resting her back against one of the walls. Moving her head as little as possible, she took note of several vines, which looked like they could be climbed up and used as a means of escape.

Quickly, a plan began to form, and she prepared herself for the journey upwards. Of course, if she were to climb out of this hole, she'd need to rid herself of the arrows in her body.

That was not a fun prospect. The work alone to get her into a sitting position had caused her to break out into a cold sweat that left her hands and head dripping. She wiped her right hand on her leg and tried to prepare herself. She reached for the arrow lodged directly below her chin, stuck in her collarbone and pulled as hard as she could.

The pain was incredible, but endurable. She felt the arrow move slightly, but it didn't give. She was close to passing out from the pain, but she knew she had to do this in order to escape. Somehow she inherently knew that no help was coming. With that in mind she grit her teeth and the arrow came out with a gross 'pop.' The arrow was bathed in an alternating pink and blue light and shattered when it had been fully removed from her body. She gasped.

'How could that be? How could something just disappear before her very eyes? It must be a sort of…magick? No, that was preposterous. Right..? Magick didn't exist. At least she didn't think it did…'

She noticed that magick or no, her arm tingled and a continuous pink glow began at her fingertips. She brought her right hand into her eyesight slowly and looked at it closely. Within the pink glow, there were green leaves on her hand. The leaves glistened and sparkled with an effervescent emerald light. She poked one of the leaves and could have sworn she felt a breeze and heard a crinkling of a leaf. She felt soothed and calmed at its touch. Real magick! Literally, at the tip of my fingers! Neat!

"Would you look at that?" She said amazed, only the bones heard her.

Reinvigorated by the fact that she could wield magick, and how much her vision had cleared once the first arrow was removed, she took hold of the arrow on her left arm. It was difficult and she bared and ground her teeth as she felt the arrow in her right arm dig further in. The pain coursed through her, but she grunted and groaned through it. Again she felt the arrow wiggle, and like a stick caught in mud, slowly it wriggled free with another 'pop.' Again, it disappeared, shattering in a blue and pink light.

She felt much better once the second arrow had been removed and only faintly sick to her stomach. With renewed energy, and two successful uses of magick under her belt, she turned to the arrow on her right side. This would be tricky she knew, as there was no way to pull an arrow out of your right arm with your right hand. She would just have to do it with the left. She grit her teeth together, wrapped her hand around the arrow and pulled with all her might.

Nothing happened. The arrow barely moved at all, it didn't even wriggle like the other two had, and she didn't know what she'd done wrong. She gripped it again and pulled harder.

"Rrrrrrghhhh!" She grunted.

Exhausted, and panting, and slightly sickened at the effort, she stopped pulling and scowled at the remaining arrow.

"You're not going to get the best of me, I promise you that."

She thought what she could do differently. Perhaps she needed to say a magick word? But she hadn't before…

"Hrmm…." She thought out loud. "What if I…?" Almost in answer, her right hand tingled and she cautiously poked it with her left. Her left hand zinged and took on the same ghostly glow as her right. Without wasting a moment, she grabbed onto the arrow and pulled with all her might. The arrow seemed to fight her pull, but she didn't waver in her grasp and held a constant grip.

Eventually, just like the two before them, the third and final arrow shattered into dust and she could breathe freely again. Her vision began to clear, and she felt strength return to her. She took three deep breaths in quick succession and this time didn't hear the whistling from her punctured lungs. She swiftly probed her abdomen and while she knew there must have been wounds, she found none of them open. It was if she'd experienced weeks of healing in a single moment. She didn't want to look too closely into the issue for fear of finding a mortal wound. Instead, she heartened at the prospect of leaving her tomb.

"Now, I'll just have to climb out!" She said smiling; proud of her triumph over the arrows. That was until she looked up at the lip of the well looming over her. She didn't think she was afraid of heights, but it sure seemed a long way up.

She lifted her hand up to her face to brush back a wayward hair, and felt instead a facemask. She followed the edges of the mask up and back, finally finding a tie and unraveling it. The mask fell to the ground with a clatter and she bent to pick it up. As she did something akin to a memory tickled her. She remembered looking up from a futon into the fiery eyes of a nekomata, they were wide and the cat was purring and kneading her chest. Next she saw several disjointed images: a necklace, a room with several figures that were blurry and indistinct, and a large hand giving her the mask that she was reaching for.

Her head hurt with the emergence of these images and she closed her eyes to quell the pain. Like trying to remember a dream after waking, she found that the images slipped away from her. She tried to grasp at them, but they only disappeared quicker. She shook away the thoughts and reached down to retrieve the mask. She opened her pack and shoved the mask in. She would try to remember more about how she'd gotten where she was, and exactly why she couldn't remember anything, but later. First she had to get out of this well.

Determined, she felt her wounds where the arrows had been once more. Just to be sure… There were gaps in her armor, which were caked with dried blood, but the wounds were not bleeding. It seemed that they had healed. Odd that… But she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or at least she didn't think so…

Slightly confused at the odd turn of phrase her mind supplied her with, she sighed and got to work grabbing onto the vines, placing her feet into footholds and pulling herself up. She made steady but slow progress and rested halfway up when she heard a shout. She paused to listen and her blood ran cold.

She heard many male voices shouting and yelling joyous tunes, while women screamed. Something wasn't right. In fact something was very wrong, _very wrong,_ above ground.

As she emerged from the well, she realized exactly what was wrong. The village, if it was a village down and to her left was on fire. There were shouts from men and women, but it didn't seem like they were trying to put out the fire. In fact, it sounded instead like a raid. Cautiously she placed her legs over the side and threw body onto the ground.

She sat there staring skywards for several breaths, trying to catch up with her racing heart. She touched all the items on her back and at her hip, she still had all her weapons: sword, bow, pack, and quiver. At the very least she'd be able to defend herself. She wasn't sure she knew how, but she hoped that since she was carrying them, she must know how to wield them.

She didn't know who was behind this attack, but she wasn't going to let this injustice occur. Determined, she clambered to her feet and cautiously approached the village.

* * *

She had managed to skirt along the edges of the village, following huts and hedgerows until she came upon the aggressors. It was a rowdy group of men around thirty or so in number, she counted. They wore black domed hats with horns. It gave her the appearance of an army of ogres, she shook her head and looked on. Some of the men also wore neck-guards, but then some were without. Most however, possessed a myriad of armor reminiscent of hers but haphazardly pieced together. It was clear that none of them bore armor of the same skill as she. Many if not all possessed swords; a few had halberds and naginata and one in particular who looked like the leader only carried a tanto at his hip and a bow on his back. Blue flags were strewn about the village with a white triangle overlaid with three triangles within the large one. Something tickled her memory, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She assumed the flag was the group's colors, but of course she didn't recognize it. Neither did she recognize the village, men or anything that surrounded her.

She paid them no mind and instead tried to make up a plan. The men had rounded up the women and killed most of the able-bodied men. It was obvious to her by the scent of death that lingered around the village. That and of course, the random corpses that lay scattered about. Those that were old or too young to pose a threat were serving food, carrying bales of rice to their horses or being beaten for the men's amusement. She could hear several of the women in various huts screaming as the men took them without mercy. The rest of the women were tied and guarded, all of them looked only at the ground, unwilling to catch the unwanted eye of their abusers. All were savagely beaten, bleeding and covered in lashes or newly formed bruises.

A plan roughly formed in her mind, and she decided to jump into action. She grabbed her bow from behind her right shoulder and prayed to the Kami's above that she'd had sufficient practice. She got low to the ground and tried to sneak alongside a particularly large house. When she got into position, she nocked an arrow and aimed at a barrel of sake that was being chugged by one of the thugs. She released and the barrel shattered, drowning the man in sake, and he spluttered while the other men looked on and yelled at the loss. She silently whooped and pumped her hand in the air at her triumph. Clearly she was a skilled archer. She filed that away for later use.

"I didn't do it! It jus' shattere'r!" The man yelled at no one in particular, but to any who would listen.

"That's enough, you've had enough sake Yori," The man with the tanto at his hip said.

She had suspected him to be the leader, and the way that all the other men quieted down when he spoke made her think she was correct in her assumption.

"Nao, come on, M'm fine. M'm not even tha' drunk. It was a spiri' I'll 'elll you, a spiri' broke the bottl.'" Yori staggered over and grabbed onto the man called Nao looking imploringly at him.

She looked on from her hidden position in the shadows and watched in horror as Nao took out his dagger in a swift motion. In the blink of an eye he cut Yori's throat.

"Grrrkkk!" Yori said, eyes wide in horror, trying to hold his sliced throat together, while his blood flowed between his fingers, coating his body and eventually landing in a sad puddle down at his feet. He made several animated choking noises for a few more minutes before his body finally went still. The village seemed to hold its breath and all eyes watched the leader wipe his blade clean on the dead man's clothes.

"The next man or woman to question me will face the same fate," Nao said calmly to the crowd that had gathered.

From her hiding spot, she crouched and scowled at Nao. She didn't know if she'd ever felt hate before, but she felt it now. She couldn't believe that someone would turn on their own man. Even if they were a bandit, did this Nao not know about brothers in arms? About honor? Perchance, her plan may need some work…

She waited until the crowd had dispersed, going about their business and she heard Nao's rough voice call out "Bring that one to me!" He said pointing to one of the younger prettier women who were tied up.

Several of the men fumbled over themselves; jumping to do their leaders bidding and she solemnly anticipated her next move. She moved around the hut she sheltered behind, and edged over to the next smaller hut. This one was much closer to the fray, but also ran the risk of being seen. She silently debated her odds, and took the chance; staying silent and hunkered she waited.

The girl who stepped forward was wearing a plain yukata in pale pink lined with grey and in her hair was covered with a cream-colored cloth. The crouched girl could see even from a great distance that the young woman was visibly shaking. The girl cowered and couldn't seem to stop; her tremble only increased in strength as she was frog-marched in front of Nao by two of his cronies.

"Ple-Please my lord…" The young woman said desperately.

"Please? Please what?" Nao said smirking to his men. Several of them started elbowing each other in the ribs and laughing like it was all such fun to subject a woman to their cruel whims.

"Pl-please spare me my lord." The young woman quivered as she spoke and broke into a deft low bow.

"Who do you have in mind to take your place?" Nao replied calmly.

"…T-take my place?" She replied clearly confused.

"Yeah, you want me to spare you, so who do you offer up in your stead?"

The girl lifted her head and opened her mouth, but no words came out. She looked back to where all the other women were tied up and saw all of their heads held down, purposefully _not_ looking at the woman on display. She faced back around, clearly making up her mind, she looked utterly dejected.

"Nonm'lord." The girl mumbled.

"What was that?" Nao yelled.

Several of the men jeered.

"No one my lord. I accept my fate." Her voice rang out calmly and clearly.

The girl who was crouching had had enough. She waited until Nao took a deep drink from his jug of sake before she nocked another arrow and let it loose. In quick succession, she fired at all the sake jugs that were in her sights. Her goal was to destroy as many of them as possible. She counted six jugs shattered before the men caught on to what she was doing.

"Spirits!" Someone yelled in terror.

"Mononoke are attacking!" One of the armored men yelled, dropping his sake jug and running into the melee.

"Ghosts!"

"They've come for us!"

"Ahhhh!" A crowd of men yelled before diving behind a hut for safety.

"Arm yourselves and form up!" Nao yelled out to his men roughly, yet he displayed absolute calm. He pulled his men into sensible ranks around himself.

'Hmm. A general.' She thought.

The girl grabbed another arrow and lit this one on fire in a brazier that was burning nearby. She pulled back and aimed near where all the men were forming, right where the man named Yori had his throat slit. She held her breath and released, trusting her aim was true.

Fortunately for her, it was.

Immediately a fire sprang to life on the body of Yori and she said a silent prayer for the man whose body she was defiling.

Unfortunately, by firing a flaming arrow, she had given away her position. Instantly the men knew where their target was, and they surrounded her. She tried to escape by retracing her path backwards. She rose from her crouched position in an attempt to flee. Except, she didn't get far at all, after taking a few steps from her hiding place she met the cold dead eyes of Nao instead.

"Now what do we have here?" Nao said intrigued as he back-handed the girl across her face.

She was astounded at how much the blow hurt. Her neck snapped sideways with an absurd crack; the blow rattled her brain and snapped her teeth shut. She bit her tongue in the process and yelped in surprise at the unexpected pain. Her hand went to her sword but Nao was faster as he kicked at her slow fingers.

She screamed at the pain in her hand. She was sure one or possibly more fingers were broken. They throbbed and she whimpered in agony.

"A woman, eh? And dressed up like a warrior too! Who are you?" Nao said.

The men leered at her with obvious appetence in their eyes. They wanted her, and she thought she'd never rid the image of their eyes leering at her from her mind. She said nothing hoping they'd ignore her. They didn't.

"Who sent you?" Nao asked.

She was still trying to get her bearings and clutching her hand in pain, and she didn't see the next blow. It struck her across the face in the other direction and she shuddered at the sting.

"No one sent me." She spit out at his feet. Perhaps if he had an answer, then he wouldn't be so quick to strike her.

"There's no way you are alone, now tell me how many are there, and when and where do they expect you?" Nao said.

The girl said nothing, and instead received another slap across her face for her silence. Stars fluttered across her vision as she blinked back into focus, staring wide-eyed at the disgusting face of the man called Nao.

Now that she was up close and personal with him, she could see him clearly. His armor was a cut above the rest; it was clean, cared-for, yet dented in several places. Though it seemed to be worn, it was likely battle hardened. He wore white lined with grey o-yoroi complete with long faulds, short vambraces, and black pointed pale gauntets and matching greaves. He stared at her with a hard face. This man had known violence most of his life, and instead of being torn or destroyed by it, he flourished on it. She was repulsed just looking at him. He could have been kind, compassionate, but instead he chose to be cruel and unpleasant. Worse yet, she could see from his face that he enjoyed it. He enjoyed causing pain to others, in fact he seemed to thrive on it.

Sadly, his face was in fact handsome, and that was perhaps the worst of it. He had full lips, a straight nose, and black symmetrical eyes that seemed slightly too wide. But the whole effect was endearing, and she would have even called him attractive, if he wasn't clearly a monster.

'I must be rattled; my brain thinks this monster is attractive.' She thought inanely. She giggled at the ridiculous notion and Nao frowned down at her.

"Are you stupid?" He asked seriously.

"No, but you might be." She said smiling.

Nao didn't say anything, but instead slapped her again. He called to his men to tie her up and bring her to his hut. It was then when she finally spoke, and Nao flipped around angrily to stare at her in disbelief.

"What hut? Hahahaha." The girl laughed madly.

The men, who had jumped to her side in an attempt to subdue her, kicked her in the stomach and she fell forward but kept on laughing even from her compromised position on the ground. When she finally glanced up, the men who were holding her realized why she had been laughing. And in that moment it appeared that Nao grasped her humor as well.

An explosion rang out behind them, scaring the horses; who took off in a flurry of whinnies and a storm of hooves charging away from the village. Her flaming arrow had finally caught the sake stores, and ignited them all. The six jugs that she had broken had formed a trail – leading straight to the assembled stockpile, which had clearly been piled high by the bandits, next to a single hut. Now all the sake stores were going up in flames and the men jumped to stem the flood of her destruction.

At the same time she'd managed to scare most of the horses away, and any that were still in the village were trying desperately to get away from the flames. The few men that weren't passed out drunk where they stood jumped to free the animals from the licking flames and tied them up in the forest. Other men ran to aqueducts and the river in an attempt to stop the nearby huts from catching and destroying their loot.

The only man who didn't seem to have jumped to one cause or the other was Nao. He turned with a ferocious look on his face towards the prone form of the girl.

"Why, you're a clever bitch aren't you? I'm going to enjoy breaking you." He said and she had no doubt about the veracity of his words.

The girl just stared at him from her knees, until he struck her a final time and she drifted into unconsciousness, welcoming it with wide open arms.

* * *

She came to slowly at first and groggily. The last time she'd woken up she'd been stuck in a well. Now she was strapped to a horse, being carted around like a sack of rice. Her head was knocking with each and every step against the horse's knee, and her knees were also hitting the horse's thighs. Her stomach ached from her precarious position and she desperately tried to move. Awkwardly, her hands were tied behind her back, so all she did to the outside observer was wriggle slightly.

"Hey Okashira! She's awake!" Someone yelled from her left, and she felt the horse she was tied to slow down and eventually come to a halt.

'Great,' she thought, 'I've been seen.'

She looked around and saw several horses' rumps in front of her and even more horse heads behind her. But she saw far more human feet than she saw hooves. That was a good sign. It meant that she'd been successful. Many if not most of the horses had escaped, and the bandits hadn't gotten them back. She smiled at the success of her covert operation. Now, only if she could magick her way out of this situation… Her brow quirked in thought. She'd almost forgotten about her magick. That might be something to try. These men sure seemed ignorant enough to be frightened of her over the simplest matter. It may work… If she played it just right…

Pale black greaves stepped into her line of sight and she recoiled at the sight – Nao. She felt a pressure lighten, which she took it to mean she was being untied. After all the restraints were removed someone pushed her off the horse. With her hands still tied behind her back she fell forwards and her knees took the brunt of the impact. As she crouched she tried to ignore the hot pain that shot up her legs, but at least she was grateful that she didn't land flat on her face. Her head still hurt from the slaps she'd received, and she didn't want to cause it any more pain at the moment. The headache that she'd woken with was piercing.

She tried wiggling her fingers, but instead sharp needles shot up her arms. The bindings were definitely too tight, and her pointer, ring and pinky fingers throbbed uncomfortably. Somewhere she realized that they were broken.

"Who sent you?" Nao asked.

As far as she knew, she hadn't been sent by anyone, but she knew Nao wasn't going to accept that answer. She'd already tried. So instead she said nothing. But she knew that he wouldn't accept her silence either. Instead she mentally prepared herself for the worst.

And there it was, within a moment of her looking away from his face she was back-handed. The pain in her head increased and she tried to stifle the whimper that rose to her lips, but failed.

"You clearly lack discipline. So, let me show you that means. We're your betters, and you bend to us. If not, we will break you. And believe me you won't like that very much at all." Nao said.

"What's to keep you from breaking me anyways?" She asked spitting blood at his feet from a new cut across her lips. If she wasn't careful she'd have permanent scars from this encounter.

At that he just smiled at her. "You are very perceptive, for a woman." He said the word woman as if it were a vile and dirty thing. "Are you proud of your work?" He pointed out towards the convoy.

"What work is that?" She asked coolly, following his movements.

He backhanded her again and she reeled, trying to sit back up on her knees. She wanted to appear to have a semblance of dignity at the very least. Clearly Nao was of the opinion that a slap was the same as a response to a question. She hated him.

"The horses, the sake, the women." He replied indifferently.

"Oh? What about them?" She inquired trying to keep all emotion out of her voice so he wouldn't have any extra excuse to 'discipline' her.

"Half my men lost their horses to your ridiculous scheme, all of the sake was burned, and the villagers managed to escape." Nao said angrily.

"Good." She said smugly.

He backhanded her again, but then smiled deviously.

"You might not be of that mindset later tonight. You are the only form of entertainment we have, for _all_ of my men. I think that will be enough to break you. Don't you?" Nao walked back towards the head of the convoy laughing all the way and a cold shiver made its way up her spine.

She did not want to be all of these men's plaything, tonight or _any_ night for that matter. She didn't think she could stomach that. She'd heard what they'd done to the village women. If it happened to her, she knew she was going to be sick, and she didn't know if her fortitude could survive rape. She swallowed audibly.

The man next to her elbowed her hard in the ribs and she turned to look at him inquiringly. He grabbed her wrists smugly and for a brief moment she thought she might be released. The man untied her wrists and she attempted to wring life back into them. Instead however, he roughly grabbed her hands and tied them again together, tighter than before, yet this time in front of her. He then tied her to his saddle with a length of rope, and forced her to keep pace with him or run the risk of being pulled behind his horse. Yet, another appetizing prospect, she would much rather prefer a quick death than being tortured to death, dragged along by a horse.

Right then, escape, that's the only option. She looked up at the sun; it had passed midday just a little while before, and was slowly making its way across the horizon. She had a little less than a few hours before nightfall. Surely she could work out a plan to get herself out of this mess. Right…?

Right.

First things first: weapons.

Thankfully she was still wearing her green iridescent samurai armor, but she realized that her bow, sword, quiver and pack were missing. 'Shit,' she inwardly cursed. She looked for it but couldn't see her armaments on any of the four horses that occupied her narrow field of vision. She tried looking backwards, but was staggered by the unexpected movement of the horse, she turned to keep her body facing forwards.

She sighed and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. She would get through this. She knew it. She didn't know how, but she did know that she would _survive_. No matter what.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Okashira – means boss – they say this somewhat infrequently in Inuyasha, but they do say it.**

 **Yori** **–** **male Japanese name for "public servant."**

 **Nao** **–** **male Japanese name for "docile" or "esteemed" based on spelling.**

 **Just wanted to include the final country list from March, 37 countries: USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, Poland, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Brazil, Bahrain, Germany, Russian Federation, Romania, Spain, Singapore, Australia, Chile, India, Denmark, Ireland, Bahamas, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Austria, France, Peru, Venezuela, Taiwan, Croatia, Iceland, Sweden, Belize, Hungary, The Republic of Korea, Finland, Portugal and last but not least Egypt. I appreciate all of you, thank you for taking the time to come and read my story! It's really amazing when you think about it, that all of you can read this from wherever you are in the world. Thank you for reading!**

 **Happy reading, please R &R**

 **Kajatk8**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Some things on the last chapter - **Nyght elf** brought up some really good points and I thought I'd just discuss them here: they didn't believe that Kagome/Ena could have survived from her travel down the well, and I'm going to explain / elude to why this could / could not happen (Hopefully without showing my full-hand in the process) and I hope this will fix my failings. =)

 **First** and foremost – I want to point out that none of these arrows are life-threatening. One arrow took her in the collarbone under her chin (I realize I didn't explicitly state that, so I'll fix it later, sorry), the other two she took one in each arm. Yes, it's likely that she will have a lot of damage, but people crack and break collarbones all the time (where middle arrow hit), and arrows in the arm (second and third arrows hit here) – we've seen many of the villagers/people in the show survive from arrows in more serious places, (and I'm not talking about Inuyasha.) The most likely cause of death would be infection, but she healed, so no death there.

 **Secondly** these arrows were spelled, they were meant to _curse_ her, not take her _life_.

 **Thirdly** , she was wearing her armor, and I don't know if you remember but from Chapter 7, we learn that all of Kagome's companions (Including Totosai, Momiji and Botan and all the Edo crew/Inu-taichi) have made her a set of armor – that uses demon dragon and fish scales and demon bones. So this, while I haven't said exactly what type of protection this armor affords, we can assume that it does afford _some_ protection.

 **Fourthly** , I tried to make it subtle, but I think I made it too subtle in retrospect… The arrows made her think that she was more hurt than she actually was. She thought she had a punctured lung, but upon removing them, she realized she didn't, it was part of the dark arrows power/curse.

 **Fifthly** , I haven't discussed at all what the tattoo of leaves do, Inuyasha and Kagome never found out either. I will rectify that soon.

And finally ( **sixthly** ), we don't know how long she was in the well for.

Now onto a guest reviewers concerns, noted only as **DB** to me:

 **First** : yes, this chapter will include rape. I'm not going to go in depth into the actual act in this chapter, but it will happen. Kagome/Ena will deal with the consequences of the act probably for the rest of the story, but it will **NOT** be the focus of this story. I've got way more important things planned for that.

On that note: If you don't think that rape happens or you don't like reading about it, then I suggest you not read anything, because unfortunately rape is in every culture in the world. Particularly in the period that Kagome/Ena has found herself in. In this time, women were thought of only as a means of property/monetary value/land value, they were responsible for their fortune and the money was passed on through the daughters (Only if they were aristocratic or the daughters of lords, well to do with money etc.). However, the fathers would find a 'decent' or in their minds respectable husband for their daughter, and they would be wed, many times against their will. Then the women were subjected to their husbands rule. Additionally, lords would more often than not take one wife for her money and name, and he would take many additional wives based on their political prowess, beauty, and intelligence. Now this is in the more civilized and gentrified culture (the kizoku), this is not talking about the serfs (sen-min) which were essentially slaves, serving folk etc. to lords, or the ko-min which were freemen and could have been samurai-like lords who ran across the countryside and pillaged, or it could be the farmers who worked in the fields all day for the kizoku. Either way, there is a lack of respect for women, none of which have the same rights or allowances as men in most modern day cultures. This is drastically different from pre-historic japan, where women were often in heads of power as priestesses, shaman and heads of villages.

 **Second** : it's practically unbelievable to me, a woman in the 21st century, that Kagome hadn't ever been raped in the 15th century. She's so foolhardy and naïve in many aspects! Within the first what was it, three episodes of the show? She was captured by a group of bandits who were looking up her skirt. And if it wasn't for Inuyasha's heroic save, she could have found herself a bed-warmer to that whole group, that's just the first of many other displays of what the culture/mindset she was of the time. And that's just one example, she could have easily been by any of the multitude of demons and humans that kidnap her in the show/manga, etc.

 **Third** : Kagome/Ena has no one to rescue her, she's entirely alone, and has yet to find a "hero" or become a hero herself (aside from the manga/anime of course). This is kind of what the story I'm trying to write is about. She's growing into a woman, she's no longer a teen.

 **Fourth** : Write what you know, right? I've been unfortunate enough in my life to have experienced rape. For me it was many years ago, and it took a long time to be okay with myself afterwards. Now, I'm a strong advocate for women's rights, self-defense classes being taught to young women in particular, and I practice Taekwon-do myself, so I can actually protect myself from any future attack. But that's not how it is with many people. The statistics are out there its 44% of rapes in the USA occur to women under the age of 18, and 80% of rapes occur to women under 30. There are a lot of other statistics out there too, like every 107 seconds a rape occurs. 4/5 times rape is committed by someone the person knows. And perhaps the worst statistic is 68% of the time, rape is not reported to the police. The resources are out there, please if it happens to you, get help. There is no reason that it should occur, and under any circumstances, it is NOT okay. There are free 1-800 hotlines, support groups and clinics that are designed to help you. To me I see rape as a horrific experience I went through, but that I can use in my writing and make sound believable. And hopefully have the added benefit of it not occurring to someone else if I were to write about it.

(Rape statistics from 2015 in the USA, Rape, Incest and Abuse National Network, www. rainn. Org, remove the spaces obviously because of ffn)

Thank you to the magnanimous **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Warning** , graphic scenes of violence and sexual violence. Viewer discretion is advised. See rating.

 **Chapter 11. Escape**

The convoy walked at a grueling pace and she found herself struggling to keep up as the day went on. As far as she could figure it, it was a miracle that she was standing at all. She'd consumed no food or liquids at all for the past… day? Or was it two? She didn't know how long she had been unconscious and strapped to that damn horse. Nevertheless, she was weakening, and she felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest; its rhythm echoing painfully in her head.

Along the march, the men had been leering at her, casting looks her way that she wished she could wipe off their faces. She had no idea how to get out of her situation. After a few more hours of the grueling march one of the men took pity on her and offered her some water. She gratefully accepted it, and felt like she drank her entire weight in a matter of moments. She turned and thanked him, but he only replied that he didn't wish to rape the dead. She paled. After that, she kept all interactions to a minimum and kept her head down while she furiously plotted a means of escape.

To her surprise, when the sun sank below the horizon, the band of men didn't stop to make camp. They instead kept trudging on, and on, and she thought she would truly die walking if she were forced to continue. She could just see her cold dead body, slowly dragged along behind this morose crowd, just like they had threatened and she shivered at the thought. Eventually though, a shout rang out and all the horses halted. She looked about curiously, but couldn't see what had caused them to stop.

Several more orders were bellowed out from up ahead. She couldn't hear them, but understood the authority in their instructions. They must have come from Nao. All the troops behind her formed up and readied weapons waiting for a signal to attack. She however, was pushed up against a cherry tree and tied there, like a horse.

"Don't worry girly, I won't soon forget about you." The man whose horse she'd been strapped to said. He lingered for a little too long, and someone up ahead gruffly called to him to report to his post. Yet, before he left he grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him, while he manhandled her breasts. It happened so fast – she was abashed and didn't know how to respond. "For luck." He said before dashing off. She found herself staring after him, the longing in his eyes was sickening, and she was ready to dry heave at the smallest bit of contact.

Once he was gone, she looked around frantically, looking for anything to use to cut her bindings – a sharp rock, a pointy piece of bark, something, anything!

"Come on give me something!" she groaned kicking her foot in anger.

Except in the dark, she found nothing. It didn't stop her from looking however, but it sure slowed her progress. In desperation she started digging with her toes and heels into the dirt, in hopes of finding a rock.

She continued to dig, but came up empty handed. Apparently the man-handling pig chose the best spot to tie her; only rough course clay and dry dirt met her boots.

That was when she heard the cry. Thirty warriors shouting in the distance charging forward, which were echoed with men's cries of agony and women's screams. Children were also heard, louder and quieter at the same time. Their shouts were perhaps the worst – yelling into the night at mothers and fathers who were cut down by these men. Her blood ran cold, and it finally dawned on her why they had stopped. They had come across another village and from the sounds of it – the men were laying waste to it just as they had to the one by the well.

She listened disgusted as she heard several more shouts and cries from the throes of death of both men and women alike. She couldn't help it but she started counting. When she got to forty-two, she couldn't hold all her emotions inside anymore and she broke down, crying for these unseen villagers.

That's what she told herself of course. That she was crying for the villagers. Not herself. Never herself. But as she truly thought about the events of the past day, she grew to regret her prior interference. What had she really hoped to accomplish? Saving one single village? Many of the women had already been raped judging by their outward appearances. The old and young men still lay dead, cut down where they stood defending their village. The few children she'd seen alive would become orphans. Yet, when she had formed her plan, she thought she was saving them. She'd felt a righteous need to help. Now, she was terrified at her own unclear fate at the hands of such immoral men.

Eventually the shouts died down, and they were soon replaced with the sounds of men in the throes of passion and women squealing like pigs at the slaughter. She just knew instinctively that they were being raped and tortured. She could see it in her mind's eye, what the men had started to do, just like the other village; they'd segregated the women and started using them for their own amusement. She stopped crying abruptly for fear that they would hear her and she'd be next.

She hoped that they would forget about her, but no such luck. Barely even five minutes after the wails of passion had started she heard solemn footsteps approaching her. The man who'd previously given her water approached, and in that moment she'd wished it had been Nao instead to come and find her. Though she despised their leader, this particular man frightened her much more so than the prospect of rape ever could. It was something about his eyes. They seemed cold – dead.

"I'm to bring you to Nao, struggle, and you'll not make it there in one piece." The man said seriously as he eyed her up and down.

She jumped at his brisk manner; she hadn't expected him to speak. Then she cursed herself for her silent wish. Clearly the Kami's had been listening, and they hadn't been kind.

She nodded to him and stayed as still as she could be while he untied her bindings and roughly pulled her to her feet. She fell into step behind him as he forced her to walk towards the screams, pulling roughly on her bindings if she seemed to tarry.

They walked into the edges of the village and she looked around. It was déjà vu. She was walking through the other village, just on a different day. Again, the women were segregated and tied up individually with a single guardsman to watch them, just as she'd thought. Men were seen grabbing women and throwing them into huts, and there were corpses strewn about the place.

Again only the men and children were cut down, likely those who were too feeble, sickly or young to help the convoy in one way or another. She worried over where she was going, expecting to be thrown in with the other women, and meet their same fate. However, when they purposefully walked past the women, she became more distraught over what was to happen to her. Several of the women who were tied and guarded caught her eye. They looked at her and then quickly looked away, afraid that her particular luck might become theirs.

She wasn't sure where they were going, they were moving with such a purpose and she found herself filled with dread. If this man had wanted to harm her, he could have done so back where she'd been tied up. Likely no one would have heard her scream there, yet he kept marching her through the village, and she counted the bodies that she saw just to keep her mind busy. And yet, after twenty-two bodies, she decided to quit her macabre activity and completely averted her eyes.

'Look at that roof. What a nice roof it is, well built and thatched. And look at that cloud passing by over that roof, it looks like a dragon. Not a dead body eviscerated right in front of me, no siree.' She found if she kept up an ongoing inner monologue, her mind wouldn't have time to think about what was happening around her.

Finally they stopped marching and the back of her knees were kicked out from underneath her and she clattered to the ground, yelping in pain. Since her hands were still tied behind her back, she had to throw out a shoulder to slow her landing, just so her face wouldn't crash with the ground.

'Ouch, there goes the inner monologue…'

She looked up from her submissive position straight into Nao's sinful face. It appeared that he had sequestered the lord's house for himself, and had said lord on his knees and begging for his life.

"Ahh, there you are." Nao said, nodding to her and the man holding her restraints.

"Thank you Daku, like I promised, you may have your choice of women." Nao said gesturing to a line of six women standing behind the man on the ground. All were beaten and blood was freely flowing from several wounds on hands and arms. Yet, she noted that their faces had escaped the fray. These women seemed to be of a different class than those of the villagers. Their dress was of a higher quality silk, easily seen by the intricate patterns, layers and details in their clothing. These women did not appear to be simple field hands. She mused that they must be the Lord's family, though they all looked like courtly princesses. They appeared at a loss in the current atmosphere, and she pitied them.

'How awful.' She thought looking from one frightened face to the next. Only the oldest woman, who she thought must be the wife showed no emotion, she didn't even cry a single tear. The girl on her knees suspected that the woman had known violence before, likely at the hand of her husband.

Daku bowed and grabbed the youngest daughter, barely older than a child. She guessed the girl must have been twelve, perhaps thirteen or fourteen at the most.

Nao's face darkened at Daku's choice but he said nothing. Daku carried off the screaming girl and kicked the Lord who was grabbing his kimono and pleading with him not to take his youngest, his dear Aiko.

The remaining women were crying fairly loudly and she looked at them. None of them had known of this particular terror in their life before, of that she would have bet her life. She briefly wondered at what would have been worse for the Lord, to have five sons instead and watch them killed before his eyes without honor, or to watch as his daughters were taken by evil men, but left alive, to spawn bastards who would have an even crueler life than they'd experienced. The prospect churned her stomach and she looked away. If the Kami's were kind, they would bring some happiness to this family in the future. Yet, looking upon them, she was unsure if the Kami's were kind.

She hadn't paid much attention to Nao, but he'd apparently divided the remaining women up amongst his most trusted of men, who carried them off amidst screams. The girl watched on in silence as the family before her shattered, never to be the same again.

"You disapprove?" Nao said approaching her and grabbing her restraints.

"Of course, you're monsters and what you're doing is barbaric."

"That's one way to look at it." Nao replied pulling her bodily into the Lord's house.

"What other way is there?" She said following at a sedate pace. She observed the Lord's house as she went, anything to keep her mind occupied, and not contemplating where they were going. It was a modest home, but decorated with finery. The Lord was clearly hiding his wealth from the villagers, but she noticed it nonetheless. Fine silk screens were positioned throughout the house, scrolls on every wall of poetry and on doorways there were full floor to ceiling paintings. They passed an alter above which an intricate depiction of a dog was displayed along with several offerings and burning incense. She even saw a writing desk in one room of the rooms they had passed.

'Must be nobles, if they can afford such riches _and_ they can write,' she mused.

They passed what looked like the dining room and she glimpsed a small sad table. It looked like the family had just sat down for their evening tea when the village had been attacked. Poufs had been kicked and left in disarray but the table was set beautifully, for seven. Their tea was left cooling, never to be drunk.

"We are conquerors and they are ours by right." Nao said opening a shoji door that led into a bedroom.

"What exactly are you conquering?" She asked.

"This land, it was wrongly taken from us, so we're here to take it back. These people deserve what they get, they sided with the enemy."

She decided instead of playing into his obvious mind games that she would ask a question that had been eating at her the whole time since she'd been captured.

"So what does that make me?" She asked.

"Why, that makes you _my_ prize." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. He angled her right where he wanted her and knocked her down. She landed gracelessly in a heap on top of a futon which had been carefully laid out.

"Oh?" She said. She didn't know what else to say to that. She certainly didn't want to become anyone's prize, but there seemed little chance of escape. Her eyes darted around the room looking for anything to use as a weapon, but it appeared that Nao had anticipated her motives and removed all objects that could be used as such.

"Yes, it took quite a bit of convincing to make Daku take another prize instead of you. I think he likes you." Nao said coyly, unbinding her hands from behind her back and again tying her restraints in front of her body.

"What does it matter to me who rapes me? The outcome will be the same either way." She replied holding her head high.

"Oh I don't think you understand. The last woman I gave to Daku, we never found her body…" Nao laughed outright at the disgusted look on her face. She'd been right about Daku; he was evil, worse by far than Nao or any of the other men.

He seemed to be able to read her thoughts and he said, "You're right of course, they aren't a very refined group of men, but they suit my needs."

"And what needs are those?" She asked. Her mind was reeling, and she wanted more than anything to keep him talking and not onto the business that he obviously had in mind.

"War." He replied simply.

This had apparently concluded their discussion as he flipped her onto her stomach and began untying her armor. As he did so, he placed a knee into the small of her back and pushed, hard.

She immediately tried to struggle. She wouldn't give him any satisfaction. She'd decided that ages ago.

That was when she felt him grab ahold of something deadly, and she froze as she heard the 'shink' as it left its sheath and then cold metal was pressed against her neck.

"If you struggle I will slit your throat, don't give me a reason to. You can either have me willingly, or you can have all of my men unwillingly." He whispered into her ear and she felt his hot breath on her neck. She wanted to throw up, from the idea of him on top of her, to what he was planning to do with her body. But she'd rather have a single monster, than face a horde, so she made up her mind.

She gave him a faint nod, barely moving her neck for fear of slitting open her own throat. He took this for affirmation and slowly moved the tanto back to its sheath resuming his work on the ties at her hips. She wondered if she could take him unawares, but then thought better of it as she glimpsed the blades hilt in the low light. She weighed her chances of escape now against an antsy cold-blooded killer, or later after he was sated. She said a silent prayer to the Kami's to look out for her soul and went somewhere else in her mind, hoping that she had made the right decision.

* * *

After he was finished with her Nao tied her wrist to her foot, he rose off the futon, gave her a bowl of water and a cloth and told her to cleanse herself, before he turned and quit the room.

She reached for the cloth immediately, not caring that it had come from her abuser, anything to get the feeling of him off her skin. She had stayed away, far, far away as he did what he'd wanted to her body, and she'd only just come back to herself. She refused to think about it, and instead busied herself with the task of cleaning. She found if she could focus on a single simple task, then she could formulate a plan of escape. She wrung out the cloth, wanting to rid herself not just of Nao but also all of the grime and dirt from the road.

It was awkward work, and she soon found herself floundering on the floor in a sad heap. Her lips trembled and she felt tears dancing behind her eyelids, but she forced herself not to cry as the breath hitched in her throat. She knew if she started now, she'd never stop.

She heard footsteps approaching as she'd just barely straightened herself attempting to cover as much of her flesh up as possible as Nao re-entered the room. He carried a tray of food and a jug, likely sake, and a single cup.

He looked at her strangely, with an almost caring note in his eyes, and she was repulsed to see it. She looked away and stared at the far wall, memorizing the painting depicted there and observed the extremely small window just above it. The window was minuscule, absolutely unusable for escape, but it was strategically placed. She knew he must have specifically picked this room, just so that he could be in control. He let her know that her know freedom was there, but it was just beyond her reach.

"I will untie you, and you may get dressed, but if you make any attempt to escape, know that I am deadly with a knife." He said dangerously as he crouched towards her and untied her wrist from her foot.

As soon as he was done she jumped at the chance to cover herself. She had been surprised that all he'd removed were her pants, but she was also grateful. She doubted her ability to put all of her clothes back on, since she was trembling. Again she forced herself not to think of why she was naked, instead just filling her mind with the act of dressing. She jumped into her undergarment and her white hakama, and started the arduous task of getting her faulds back on and settled into the right places. She struggled silently with a greave tie, and he walked over to help her.

"If you learn to obey you'll find that I can be kind."

She cringed away from him, but he paid it no mind as he assisted her and when she was fully dressed she dared to look at him in the eye. He stared right back at her.

"Who are you?" He asked her again.

"I am no one." She replied. She knew that she was in fact someone, but she wasn't going to tell him that she didn't remember exactly who that was.

He smiled at her, and she was thrown for a moment. Then she felt the characteristic backhand across her cheek that she had unwillingly associated with seeing Nao's amusement.

"Manners." He said, rubbing his hand and taking a seat on the futon. He leaned against the wall, near the tray of food. He motioned for her to do the same, and since it didn't cost her anything, she obeyed.

"Eat. You'll need your strength."

"For what?" She asked midway to a pair of chopsticks.

"We march again tomorrow."

"Where are you marching, with such purpose?"

He declined to speak. Instead he reached for the sake jug and poured himself a cup. After downing its contents in one swig he poured another and then quirked his brow at her. She disliked the look he gave her and decided to pay very close attention to her food. It was a meager meal of rice and pickled vegetables, but she wasn't going to complain. She was unsure when and if she'd get any more.

"Let's play a game."

She kept chewing, and hoped he was joking. He wasn't. Shame.

"I'm going to guess who you are. If I am right, you will say so. And do not lie; I'll know if you do."

She glanced at him and then resumed her furious chewing.

"What happens if you are wrong?"

He didn't reply, instead he stared at her coldly, drained his cup and poured another.

"You were the daughter of a Lord, possibly even a prince. All he ever wanted was a son, except, he got you. So instead of being a disappointment to him, you trained as a warrior. Just to impress him. When that didn't work, and he shunned you even more, you decided to leave. You fled your castle, and go about the land proving your worth to him."

She said nothing as he spoke, but she slowed her chewing to listen. When he stopped speaking she thought furiously and stared in silence at the far wall. She didn't want to play this game.

"Well? Am I right?" Nao asked.

Truth be told, she honestly didn't know. She had no memory at all save for waking up in a well a day or so ago. Hell, she didn't even know her own name! But she couldn't tell him that. Not only would he likely not believe her, she'd already given him her dignity; she wasn't going to give the only piece of herself that was truly her own to him as well. She didn't know what to do, but decided that perhaps her best bet was to go along with his game.

"Yes, that's exactly right." She replied unfeelingly, resuming her chewing and her attention drifted back to the far wall. She was going to burn the image of this particular noble woman composing poetry by a river holding while holding a lotus flower into her brain. Anything to keep from looking and conversing with her rapist.

"Oh-ho? Which part?" He said.

She decided to play his game albeit carefully.

"I ran away from home."

"Why would you do that?" He replied.

"My father was going to force me to marry someone I didn't love." She wildly made up.

"I don't believe you." He said, relaxing further and pouring himself some more sake. His eyes had taken on a particularly obscured sheen, which she took to mean he was getting fairly drunk.

She could tell by his tone that he was amused that she'd decided to play.

"Oh, why's that?" She replied, trying to keep her voice as bored as possible and her anger at a minimum. She'd finished the measly meal, and replaced the chopsticks on the tray. She wished she had three more helpings and a sizeable portion of chicken too. If only.

"Because you're not pure." He replied, equally calm.

Her lips pursed as her eyes swung towards his, but he seemed far more interested in refilling his drink than judging her reaction.

She had realized somewhat dimly in her faraway world that she'd not been a virgin. When he'd entered her, it hadn't hurt as much as it should have. She added this to the simple list of things she knew about herself, but she hadn't been sure. She hoped she'd lost it to someone who meant something to her, and not been raped then too. Although, she supposed, since she couldn't remember, it didn't really seem to matter at the moment.

She was still struggling to come up with a response to this when a shout rang out throughout the house and a moment later footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching the door. She listened as one of the men banged on the door, shouting for Nao to come quickly.

"Nao, hurry! It's awful, please!" The man shouted from the hall.

Nao groaned but finally stood and walked to the door. She was surprised with the ease to which he'd stood. He must have a high alcohol tolerance, she thought she'd seen him down at least four cups of sake, maybe more. Before he opened the door however, he turned and gave her a cold look.

"Move from this room and you'll regret it." He said before he slid open the door.

He walked through it and the door closed behind him with a quick snap. She got up from her place by the futon and tried to listen at the door, but she was too late. All she heard were retreating footsteps.

She calculated her chances. The odds seemed good that she could escape before Nao came back. She put her ear to the door and listened with all her might. She tried to hold her breath in an attempt to still her hammering heart. It didn't really work, but she was fairly certain that only one guard had remained. She looked around the room wildly for anything to be used as a weapon and her eyes fell on the sake jug.

'What is it with this group and sake jugs?' She mused. She shrugged the thought away and snuck quietly to the door holding the jug with one hand. She was grateful that Nao had been called away so suddenly, in his haste to leave, he'd forgotten to re-tie her wrists together.

The man who was guarding her had his back to her, she could just make out his shadow. He was eagerly listening for whatever had called away most of the men. She took this as her chance and slowly opened the shoji door as much as it could go. When she didn't think she could open it any more without making noise, she quickly slid it open with a bang and brought the jug down as hard as she could on the man's head.

He'd barely had a chance to turn around halfway before he'd been caught in the temple with the ceramic jug. He dropped like dead weight and the jug shattered around him quite loudly. As the sake dripped down all around him, she slipped past him, and didn't spare him a backward glance.

If there was anyone left in the house, they'd be after her any minute now, if the loud racket that she'd caused was any indication. She cursed, "Shit."

Yet, she encountered no one else as she retraced the steps that Nao had pulled her through just a few hours ago. She got to the front door and crouched down so she could peer around at what lay in the courtyard.

She glimpsed outside and saw nothing, but the shouts and screams of the men were increasing in frequency, and she also heard women just as terrified yelling in the distance. She thought that odd. She looked around the courtyard and to her surprise, her eyes landed on a pair of horses. She cheered silently to herself and made sure the coast was clear before she darted out running to the nearest horse for cover.

After leaving the mansion the shouts became audible and the men sounded desperate. She could finally hear them clearly now: they were saying ridiculous things, that spirits were attacking, Kami save them, and to keep that demon away. Men and women were still screaming and they sounded to be in terrible agony.

She kept those thoughts from her mind as she walked around the horse and to her complete surprise; she found her pack, bow, quiver and sword. She grabbed her supplies, strapped her sword into her obi, and shouldered her pack, bow and quiver. She was surprised at the familiarity of the movements. While it wasn't really a memory, she had the feeling that she'd done just that, prepare for battle, many times before. A muscle memory, her mind supplied, and she smiled at the thought. Something else she filed away about herself. Finally a picture would form, and she could look at all the facts of who she was, _after_ she escaped.

She untied the two horses and smacked their backsides. Both horses took off, not needing to be told twice, they were likely spooked from all the shouting. She hoped that once the men realized she had escaped, they wouldn't know which direction she had gone, and would assume she'd taken a horse. She smiled at her clever plot and ran back the way she'd come.

She snuck back past the mansion angling for the forest just beyond the hill. She was actually escaping! She couldn't believe her luck. She ran as fast as she was able, but stumbled several times. Finally she realized she must go slower or she'd injure herself in the dark. She somberly climbed the steep hill that lead out of the village and away from the horrible bandits she'd spent the last day with. She was about to make her escape! She would never have to be forced to walk or do anything like what she'd gone through in the last twenty-four hours ever again! She was almost free!

She could hear her heart singing at the prospect, and she kept climbing, despite her weariness. She slipped and caught herself on a rock, slicing open her hand, but she got up, dusted off and kept going. Nothing would deter her. Not when she was so close.

Despite her missteps, she pushed herself on. She was about to mount the hill, and leave the village in her dust, but a strong feeling took hold of her heart and pulled. Somewhere in the back of her head she heard the words 'youki and dangerous.' She stopped confused and turned to look back.

Perhaps it was the shouts of all the women in particular. Or perhaps she just wanted to watch as the men met a cruel but just fate, as their cries on the wind told her. She wasn't sure exactly why, but she turned. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. She gasped in amazement, and she was sure she'd never seen anything quite like it before in her life.

A gargantuan reddish brown beetle the size of an elephant was attacking the village. The back of her mind supplied her with the words 'Hercules beetle.' It was massive with two horns, one short that protruded straight outwards and the other below the first which was long and swept out and then bent backwards in a great arc. It threw its head this way and that, causing general chaos in its wake. It knocked down huts and de-thatched roofs. It lifted men and horses alike into its mouth and ate them, piece by crunching piece. She watched as one of the men's heads was ripped off, spraying blood upon any who were below. The gigantic beetle seemed to take great care and played with the headless corpse before deciding to take another bite.

She wasn't sure what made her do it. It certainly wasn't compassion for the men. Her mind surely wasn't in control of her body, because it had been left back at the top of the hill. Yet somehow, she realized in a rather distracted way that she was running _towards_ the giant beast. Subconsciously she knew she couldn't let a gigantic beetle eat anyone, it wouldn't be right. Even the vilest men that she'd ever met couldn't be left to this particular fate, and she was one hundred percent certain that the vilest men were those that she'd just spent the last day with. Except, it wasn't just the thought of the men that propelled her forwards. There were also the villagers down there, who were entirely innocent. And a few children. She definitely couldn't let them all suffer.

"Archers stand ready!" Someone called from the fray and she forced herself to move faster. She watched as a few of the men rallied, taking cover behind huts here and there and aiming at the great red beetle. However, their arrows seemed to have no effect against his strong outer armor and deep within her mind she thought 'they can't penetrate the exoskeleton.'

The beetle did not like the rain of arrows upon it, despite not leaving a single dent in its thick armor. Instead it grabbed the first archer it could find and flung it around like a child with an unruly doll. The man's body broke with a loud sickening crack and she was so close to the fray that she felt a warm spray of the man's blood across her face.

She licked her lips and tasted blood on her tongue. It was the final wakeup call she needed. She stood there shocked for a moment, coming to. She realized unexpectedly where she was, what her feet had done while she'd left her mind on the hill. She was suddenly terrified. But somehow it felt normal, reasonable and rational… almost expected.

With that in mind she stole herself, and embraced the feeling. She grabbed her bow from her right shoulder and brought it up, aiming at the creature. She grasped an arrow and struggled slightly to pull it from her quiver. Cursing, she'd forgotten that Nao had broken several of her fingers.

She forced her limbs to move, and grasped the fletching tightly, nocking it and aimed at the beetle's giant beady black eyes.

"Hey! Big ugly! Over here!" She yelled out, and strangely enough, the beetle's clubbed antennae turned and faced her. He clicked at her, shaking the very ground she stood on, and he started rambling towards her in an earth shattering charge.

She steeled her resolve and dug deep within, praying that her aim was true. As she did, she felt her right hand grow warm and tingle. What she assumed was adrenaline she used to fuel her backward movement on the nock. But one way or another she knew it wasn't just adrenaline, and fueled this power into her arrow, which had started to glow a light pink.

The beetle was only about a hut's distance away from her when she released and she heard a collective intake of breath. The arrow twanged off of her bowstring and gleamed, lighting up the sky as if daylight were set in luminescent pink tones. The arrow twinkled like a comet leaving a shimmering trail of emerald-colored leaves in its wake. The beetle uncaringly continued his charge straight ahead into the arrows path. Likely it expected the arrow to bounce off of its armor as all the others had. What happened instead amazed her even more than the magic she'd performed in the well. As soon as the arrow hit the beetle's eye, it sparkled and singed and in a blast of 'reiki' (her mind supplied her with that particular word), the beetle slowly dispersed in a glowing explosion of pink dust.

Several murmuring voices fell silent and all eyes swung to her in askance and explanation. Nevertheless, she was just as stunned as everyone else in the village.

She looked on in awe at her bow and then glimpsed down at her right hand. It continued to glow faintly pink spotted with green leaves. Her arm and particularly the leaves continued to glow, and when she prodded one of the leaves; a hum ran through her, almost in happy greeting. It brought a smile to her face and she felt a warm presence fill her with strength. She gently poked her fingers and realized that the glow was mending her broken fingers. There was no other explanation to describe how they were re-knitting themselves. She felt strength return to her fingers as her bones snapped back into place. It was a very queer sensation, like her hand was experiencing time, but sped up to an inhuman rate.

When she felt the last bone realign, the faint glow slowly died. She was sad to see it go, and at that moment she realized what she had been doing. She was just standing in the center of the melee, staring in wonder at her fingers. Damn, she was supposed to be escaping! How could she have become so distracted?

She heard movement to her right and she spun to look at who faced her. Nao and the rest of his men, those whom had survived the attack were cautiously approaching.

"Stay where you are," she said in anger, more at herself than anyone.

One man kept moving, unheeding her words and in the blink of an eye she'd strung another arrow and fired it at his foot. It flew across the village and landed with an explosion of pink reiki at his feet. He jumped backwards, stumbled and fell onto his back in surprise, flailing like a beached turtle.

"I said _don't_ move." She ground out.

"You will remove yourselves from my presence. And I will spare your lives. But only if you go — _now_."

"This isn't over Hime." Nao replied.

She looked towards Nao and his men, many of the men seemed willing to flee, as long as they could keep their lives. However, others were looking at her in terror, while others still were grasping wounds and seemed oblivious to the entire turn of events.

"I say it is, now go, or I will kill your men." She replied.

"You can't kill us all _Hime_ ," Nao said grinning evilly. He was calling her bluff. Unfortunately, he was correct. She wasn't willing to kill to gain her freedom, and they were.

Nao gave a nod to someone behind her and in an instant that happened to fast to follow, she found that her freedom had come and gone. Her chance at escape had passed her by; stupidly she'd wasted it saving these men from being eaten alive by a colossal insect. What folly.

Someone came up from behind and swiftly hit her over the head. She crumpled forward and met the ground bodily. Her vision swam and she laid there dazed as she actually envisioned yellow canaries circling over her head tweeting along.

While she was trying to collect herself, she found that her hands had been tied once more behind her back. She was pulled up short by her hair and came face to face with Nao.

"Well, well, well. You're just full of surprises." Nao said smiling widely.

She couldn't really process what he was saying as her vision was still doubled and her mind blurry. She felt a distinctive weight lifting off of her and dimly realized that they had disarmed her once more.

"Urrgh – noooo." She tried speaking but couldn't find the right words.

"Let's see, I did say you'd regret it… hrmmm as for your punishment…" Nao contemplated for a moment.

"Ahh, I have just the thing." He said with amusement, and she could feel him pulling roughly on her hair. She also heard an audible sing of metal leaving its sheath and her whole body filled with dread.

He brought the tanto right under her neck again and she choked out "Errkk!" in surprise. He breathed on her ear in a loving fashion and teased the blade across her neck.

Her eyes were tearing up from the pain of being held aloft by her hair, but she couldn't help herself. She moaned and finally a word came to her lips.

"Please!" She said desperately.

"Please what?" He asked as he paused in his movements. She could tell he was just toying with her, but on the off chance that he wasn't she didn't want her life to end on her knees.

"Please don't." She said.

"What will you do if I don't?" He asked.

She cast around for anything that would still his hand and she started when she realized she had a response.

"Obey." She said.

"Hrmmm…" He seemed to contemplate that for a moment and from her upside-down view of him, she could see his hand tighten.

She swallowed and closed her eyes, he was going to do it, slit her throat even though she'd saved them all. What an ungrateful _bastard_. She screamed inwardly in frustration at her own foolishness. _Never_ again would she be so naïve. The next opportunity she had to escape, nothing would stop her from doing so. That was of course _if_ she survived tonight.

Nao let out a sigh and she felt the knife withdraw from her neck. She was overjoyed to feel the cold weight leave her body. However the feeling didn't last, and he didn't let her go. Instead he brought the knife right up to her cheek, directly below her right eye, pressing it in slightly for effect. She felt her cheek cut, and blood start to well. Tears that she'd been holding back also broke through from the combined pain and she whimpered.

"You will not attempt to escape again, and you will obey." He said firmly.

"I will obey," she agreed.

He shook her roughly like a sheet, and she whimpered again.

"I will not escape and I will obey."

"See that you do." And with that he removed the knife from her cheek and she sighed in relief. That was until he wrenched her head upwards painfully again and she squeaked. He brought the blade back to where he held her, and she briefly thought he would stab her in the neck. Then she felt a small 'snip' and the pressure from his hold ceased. She fell forwards unexpectedly without him holding her up, crashing unceremoniously flat on her face. Blinking the dirt out of her eyes from her position on the ground she looked up at him, and there in his hand he held a length of her hair tied back in a pink ribbon. That was what he'd cut.

"Since you act like a samurai, I will treat you as such. You are hereby dishonored and captured. You belong to me now." He smirked and dropped the hair which fell and landed at his feet with a small flop.

"Take the _hime_ back to the mansion." He said offhandedly to one of his men and she was roughly grabbed and pulled back the way she had come.

She could feel the tears that had been behind her eyes all night finally break through, and she cried as she was dragged back to her prison. She did so silently, not wanting to draw attention to her shame, yet she doubted she was able to. Everyone she passed stared at her in amazement. Likely they'd never seen anyone kill a beast as she had. She wasn't even certain how she had done it herself.

She felt so sad, weakened and alone. Far more than the rape, imprisonment or forced marching; losing her hair had been the straw to break the camel's back. She would be known as a serf or field-hand from sight alone. Many would think her impure taking into account her armor and the company she kept. Nonetheless, despite the truth of the statement, the thought stung her pride. She faced her head downwards in shame and assessed the damage; her hair fell unevenly past her cheekbones – almost to her chin.

In her saddened state, she didn't realize that the men, women and children of the village had bowed to her, and when she was abruptly stopped she looked up.

"Move!" The man who held her restraints said.

She saw men and women blocking their way up the lane. All of them were villagers and they were all deferentially bowing to her and praising her name. They called her hime, a gift from the Kami's and thanked her for saving their village. Somewhere along the way the villagers began chanting "Hime!" and "Ena!" Others combined the phrases and in a mob she became "Ena Hime-sama." They repeated this mantra over and over until several of the bandits came forth and beat the villagers back into submission.

The man holding her restraints pulled her hard to keep her moving, despite the village's outburst. In the last turn before walking up to the courtyard that led to the mansion she saw who she'd presumed to be the Lord's wife. The woman, who was unrestrained she noted absently, quickly ran away from the man who was watching her and threw her arms around her. She whispered in her ear "Thank you Ena-sama, Kami save you." And then she did something completely unexpected. The woman kissed her on the cheek, and then she pulled back and stared into her eyes with such love that she was taken aback. They only looked at each other for a moment before the wife was knocked down by her guard and crudely pulled away.

She didn't realize when she had stopped crying, but she felt the tears drying on her face. Then the man shoved her into a room in the mansion and had the shoji door closed right behind her and locked with a forceful snap.

She wasn't sure who she truly was, but it was clear that she had been given a name. It was given to her by an oppressed people, and she was damned if she wouldn't use it. While she hadn't escaped, she had done several good deeds. At least she had saved helpless villagers, and these people, even while being oppressed, they had shown her kindness and respect.

Her heart lightened as she sank to the floor on a futon in the corner. She was glad that she had returned. She might not have been able to escape, but she had at least saved this village. They appeared strong, and she knew they would survive this occupation.

"Ena," she said, testing out the name. No, they had called her, "Ena Hime-sama." She liked the sound of that.

She smiled to herself, feeling strength truly return to her spirit.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **So I googled the heck out of "hime" and the context of using "sama" after hime, and also then watched the show… if anyone knows the exact specifics, please let me know. I'm sure I'm butchering it but I tried not to with lots of research.**

 **Kind of a point I was subtly trying to make, but since my last chapter's subtlety kind of flew out the window, I figured I'd just point it out. In the Heian period (which is where Kagome/Ena is, though I haven't quite said it yet) the length of hair was really important, and all noble women and actual hime's had really SUPER long hair. Supposedly longer than they were tall. So the fact that Nao cut off her hair… kind of the opposite and it's sarcastic when he calls her hime afterwards.**

 **Also, I'm about to get 100 followers! That's so awesome! I can't believe it. I love you all! I've decided to do a special and fancy picture of what I think Kagome/Ena looks like in her armor when I get 250 followers. (That way it will give me some time to draw it.) =)**

 **Pokémon joke of the day: google "Snorlax stand up" then click images. You'll die laughing.**

 **This was perhaps the most difficult chapter to write, all the action, the introduction of characters, dialogue and more action. I hope it came through okay. I'd love to hear your opinions.**

 **Happy reading, love to hear from you,**

 **Kajatk8**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Soooooo… I got a lot of comments from my last post. Just going to address one here:

I do not condone rape, it's an awful horrid thing, perhaps the worst thing to do to another human being. In the last chapter I was literally just defending my use of it in my story as an inciting incident for the character I'm writing. There is no defense for rape. It's inexcusable.

Other than that, please enjoy this new chapter! More author comments at the end!

Much thanks to **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Chapter 12. A New Quest**

The Kami's looked down on Kagome's sad countenance and their expression's soured. Though many actions were written, and known, they had not foreseen this particular turn of events.

Kagome never should have fallen down the well again, she shouldn't have gone to the past, and she definitely shouldn't have been hit with those three cursed arrows.

The Kami of Light had done the best it could and sent her to where she might have a friend, or at least, be able to find an ally. Unfortunately, the Kami hadn't foreseen Nao, or the new trials that she would endure. In essence, the Light Kami had created a brand new future with this single mistake. It wouldn't have been such an epic error, if it weren't for the many other cosmic changes that Kagome had already brought about in her life.

"What should we do?" The Kami of Light asked the assembled gods.

"We've done what we could with the unexpected," the Kami of Fate replied. "At least we have saved her life, though she's been damaged, she will not be irrevocably changed."

The Kami of Love spoke up, "Yes she has, if you think she hasn't then you're not seeing the events unfolding as I am. She will not return to Inuyasha in her current state. I doubt if at all."

The Kami of the Stars' eyes twinkled, turning away from the heavens and said, "You do not know all that is written."

The Kami of Light had heard enough, "Neither do you, and that is why we are currently in this mess!"

The Kami of War and Happiness said, "I see no problem with her future, she will learn to face difficulties otherwise unknown to her, but she will learn to be happy once more, I see it."

"I see it too," the Kami of Love said glancing off at a future that apparently the two of them could see. "But it will not be the same, it will be very different. Inuyasha is lost to her."

The Kami of Knowledge said, "I will send her someone to guide her. She will recover in time."

"Who you will send may yet cause more harm than good in the long run," the Kami of Love replied angrily at being doubted by the other gods. "I will send her two guides: one to love and one to protect."

The Kami of Knowledge, ever wise, decided to concede, "As you wish."

The Kami of Light was relieved, that its mistakes would be fixed. Yet the other gods scrambled in their haste to circumvent the relief etched in its features.

"She is not out of the woods yet. She will be in for many years of trying times." The Kami of Stars said quietly.

"Which would not have been possible if I hadn't sent her the fox," the Kami of Love said smiling.

"She may struggle through the years, but she will be happy," the Kami of War and Happiness said assuredly.

The Kami of Light couldn't help but continue to watch over the once savior of all of Japan. "Something must have happened for none of us to see this. Somewhere there is a power unknown amongst us, and it is causing evil in the world when there should be peace."

The Kami's agreed in unison and turned to watch Kagome – now aptly named Ena – struggle for her freedom.

* * *

Sesshomaru was bored. In recent years it had become a commonplace feeling, he felt as if he never alleviated his boredom – only displaced it from time to time. His father and he wandered around countryside's, offering protection to the less fortunate, and fought unruly demons when they were looking for a challenge. Sesshomaru had never been one to truly care about lesser beings, and he was even more disinterested with protecting them. He never really understood the point. To him, they were born, lived and died in a flash. Their full lives were mere may flies in comparison to his existence. But he had no particular love for other demons either. In fact, anyone who did not share his same thirst for power, disinterested him.

Yet, while he hadn't valued the more noble aspects of their wanderings, he'd always appreciated what they were: the perfect excuse to test ones limits and amass power.

Sesshomaru had learned one extremely cold truth during these nomadic years: that only the strong survive. How often had he and his father visited allies to the west in one year, and then a few years later, when their wanderings brought them back, they found their allies homes in ruin and all their friends dead? Many times they were long ago defeated in some war, overthrown by rivals, rebelled against by the people who served under them… It was the same story just told in different ways. Once the great had risen up and gained power, they seemed to stop testing themselves. They became placid and immovable in their new luxurious lives. They stopped their quest for power and settled.

Sesshomaru was disgusted, and vowed to never let the same happen to him.

On a far off island, Sesshomaru had forever been changed by this harsh truth. He had once found someone who intrigued him, and he thought he'd fallen in love. Molucella was a striking woman, cunning, clever and stunningly beautiful. She was green-skinned, had long white hair and sharp golden eyes. He'd been intrigued by her looks at first, but upon visiting her home and (his father's allies on the isle), he'd come to know the princess quite well. She'd been called a sidhe or faerie by the humans, and had done her best to live up to their expectations.

She was a demon like he, yet she used her prowess to grant wishes, and she'd had no wish or need to get stronger for its own sake. The thought had intrigued him, just as she had. She'd bestowed her own power to the people under her in the form of wishes. Sometimes they were simple, such as the blessing of one's home, the gift of the harvest, yet some were more complex, like a gift of success in battle, or the death of a rival.

He'd been floored by how she chose to use her powers, he'd never dreamed up anything of the same. He'd never felt the need to share power with anyone. Nevertheless, she was so kind, and it didn't matter what race those were that she helped, her kindness radiated through her people. The way she'd used her powers had been an eye opening experience for Sesshomaru. Molucella had begun to melt the frozen block of ice that surrounded his heart, or at least, that's what she claimed she was doing.

While Sesshomaru hadn't known the exact meaning of love at the time, or had even been that affectionate himself, he'd found it difficult to leave her side. Much sooner than he'd liked, he and his father were called away to aid other allies in a far off war. Sesshomaru and Molucella's time together had been brief, but they'd promised each other that they'd marry when he returned. Sesshomaru and his father were gone a mere hundred years, no time at all to beings such as they. Yet, when they returned to the faerie mound, Molucella was gone and so were her people. They were lost from this world forever and he'd missed her death completely.

They'd found the mound occupied not by the sidhe, but what the people called lesser faeries. The banshee, skin-changers and brownies had overthrown the sidhe and taken over the mound by force, putting all rivals and prior occupants to the sword. Sesshomaru was furious, yet his father, ever the diplomat, created a new truce and allied them with the new regime. Sesshomaru wanted no part of it.

He decided then and there that a quest for power would be his constant, that no matter what he would do, he would never stop trying to better himself. He knew that if he did, it would be the greatest _and_ last mistake he'd ever make.

He'd reflected on Molucella and her kin for a long time following their demise. They'd been simple demons just like him, but they'd thought that since they were revered by lesser beings, that they were gods. They'd set themselves up as such and the humans had acquiesced to their whims. Except, they were in error, and that one mistake became their undoing. Never again would he allow such weakness into his life. While it had been hard to accept their demise at first, he'd found the courage to move on, and considered it a great life lesson.

He became far more hardened and driven than he'd ever been before he'd met Molucella. But he'd seen it as a necessary evil. Although he still thought of her from time to time, he was aware, somewhat subconsciously, that all of Molucella's hard work was destroyed that day. Somewhere the only part of him that had ever embraced benevolence had been replaced with malice.

Their demise had struck his father in a completely different way however. Touga, realizing that his realm was just as finite and open to revolution, had returned home and strengthened his borders. He showed a presence of force and again took to patrolling his lands. He secured new alliances in the south and held luxurious parties and military conferences in their shiro. He'd even bolstered new alliances with human lords, and the emerging warrior class.

Unfortunately, this happened to also coincide with the human emperor's desire for the same. The emperor had invited dignitaries from the mainland over and court life had exploded. With the mainland's humans coming in droves to Honshu, demons followed in their wake. Like the renaissance-boom of court life for the human emperor, Touga's court flourished as well.

Sesshomaru hated it.

Since he was the son of a lord, and one who was so well known and respected, he was often required to make an appearance. Even when he wasn't, his mother forced him to anyways. While Sesshomaru knew that his father was no political animal, Touga was by far, more at home on a battlefield. Nonetheless Touga had encouraged the court to thrive. With it came many more alliances, requests for aid, offers of marriage and of course _politics_.

Sesshomaru was interested only in the first two things, never the latter. With the droves of demons came willing and pliant females. Many of these courtesans, thinking to gain favor, class or rank in court would corner him, press themselves up against him and tell him the most ludicrous things. Sometimes they'd urge him to invite them to stroll in moonlight, or take them on a hunt, or recite the most ridiculous poetry he'd ever heard. More often than not, these poems and poets alike were completely frivolous and inane. He'd never understood what possessed them, because clearly they were possessed. No one with a clear head would act so ludicrously. He'd never found a need of such _peculiar_ behavior.

The most ambitious females would ignore all others and even his own attempts at stopping them. They would corner him in some area of the castle, or invite him to their private chambers, always under the assumption of a request for aid. Of course, they'd never meet with servants or his representatives, only himself. So when he'd eventually come to listen to their 'demands' he would instead find them ready and waiting for him naked in their chambers.

A single clever brown-inu female by the name of Kinuko, had albeit begrudgingly, succeeded in such an underhanded attempt. Early on when Touga had opened up his court, Kinuko had attempted to boost her place in court by claiming that Sesshomaru welcomed these particular types of one on one encounters. She'd claimed that she'd lured him to her bed, where he was a more than willing participant and equally open to reciprocation.

When he'd finally tracked down the rumor and confronted the female, he'd been about to rip her throat open when she'd surprised him. She'd not been interested in him at all. She'd been trying to alleviate her own poor court standing and constant rumors that she preferred the company of women to men. This gave him pause, as he'd later realized had been her intention.

The rumors had been true of course, and in trying to avoid shame she'd devised a plan. She'd thought that since he'd seemed to hold a certain disdain for all court politics, she would offer him an out. She would spread rumors around court, (which were likely to spread like wildfire if he complied with them,) and they would carry on a guise that she was his consort. Of course she would embellish on this and state that he enjoyed many varied bed partners, always sharing her with other demonesses, but never letting her too far from his sight. This way if he agreed to the illusion, he could continue on unattached, and she could continue on with her unusual preference for women.

He hadn't at first seen the benefits to her plan, and had almost decided to take her head as recompense nonetheless, but something in her eyes had deterred him. She'd taken his hesitance as his willingness to listen and she'd gone on to describe the benefits of such a plan in detail. She like he despised court politics, and she'd seen his displeasure often. So she'd devised this plan, to help his situation and remove the stain upon her name. While he'd been hesitant at first, he'd finally accepted her terms in hopes of getting some relief from the courtesans.

To date, the plan had been somewhat successful. While it had limited his chance random encounters, he was applied with even more ridiculous requests. Since it had become commonplace knowledge that he only liked his concubine Kinuko, now courtesans, both female (and to his chagrin) _male_ , had beseeched him to take them with him to bed. They'd intrude on him at the most inopportune of times and desperately ask to be invited to his bed along with Kinuko. Sesshomaru had been outraged and responded in kind to such requests.

When he'd snarled in response at these new stresses, he'd immediately gone to Kinuko and demanded she take care of the new arrangements. She'd been swift, and he was very appreciative. Discreetly, she'd spread the word that Kinuko would be the one to handle bedpartners, and as such, she'd been elevated to that of a princesses status. He'd smirked at that. It seemed that she'd had a plan for everything, and in the end, she'd gained what she sought. Recognition and respect, she'd gambled and won. Now she held the esteem of all the court and she was still able to satisfy her strange desires.

He'd always wondered what she'd done when he was gone on his quests, but she'd usually said she had ways of knowing when she wasn't wanted. She'd often retreated to her somewhat humble home to the west of his father's castle and there she awaited his return. He'd never asked her further, or delved into what she did while he was alone. But he appreciated her discretion. She enjoyed her own life and pursuits, and he enjoyed his. He was glad thinking back on it, that he'd not killed her for her presumption. In fact Kinuko had saved him many a headache these past fifty years.

Nonetheless, he still tired quickly of the courts games, of the poetry, of the ever-changing Buddhist religion, of their demeanors, _everything_. He found it more and more tiresome to stay at home. While he was proud that his father didn't want his realm to lapse into ruin, he found his methods exceedingly tedious.

His mother, Mizuki, prospered however. Sesshomaru had long ago suspected that Touga indulged the court-life mainly for her. When he'd asked his father why he'd allied himself with those beneath him, Touga had turned to him and said, "Only a good and true leader will endure, one who understands his people and gains their respect."

Sesshomaru doubted this and expressed his doubts regularly. He didn't understand the need for respect. His father led and protected the people; and they should show him the proper respect and deference for this alone. It was strength they were after, and he showed his strength better than most. His father just shook his head. It was one of the many things that they disagreed upon.

Lately, the court had been inundated with requests for assistance, many for aid in battle, and since it pleased Sesshomaru, Touga had directed them to him. His father, ever practical, allowed Sesshomaru to act as his figurehead, in hopes that Sesshomaru would be able to lead and rule when he was gone.

Sesshomaru didn't mind in the least, this meant that he would gain both battle and command experience. While he had the former in droves, he lacked the latter. Plus, it came with the added benefit of ridding himself of poetry, requests for solemn walks in the dark and calligraphy. Kami did he hate _calligraphy_. He didn't understand its purpose. Write a damn message; give it to the intended recipient. There was no beauty about it whatsoever. It was superfluous.

And so, Sesshomaru had spent the last ten years or so complying with battle requests. He'd found more often than not these requests weren't what they seemed. In fact claims of "battle and grandeur" were little more than a single demon who had set themselves up like a king on land not their own. Sesshomaru would be _beseeched_ to put an end to the upstarts reign. He grew tired of it, particularly the audacity of these lesser demons to set themselves up as figureheads to humans when they lacked strength on their own. What possessed them to act as such?

The last request he'd accepted had kept him from home far longer than he'd intended and he was exceedingly glad to have finally completed the job. The request had come from a cat that'd traveled from the mainland and practically begged for his help. She came from a somewhat well-to-do family on the mainland, but she had still humbled herself to make the long journey and ask for assistance. She and her brethren had been inundated by lizards, and no matter how many they killed more seemed to pop up every time.

It had taken Sesshomaru neigh on a year to finally track down the unknown lizard that had been behind the attacks. He would have been able to finish off the lizard months ago if he hadn't been using a form of trickery previously unknown to Sesshomaru. He'd used demon puppetry or kugutsu to amass an army and attack from afar. And, no matter how many puppets Sesshomaru would destroy, more seemed to rise from the very earth.

The lizard had been clever, Sesshomaru would give him that much. He'd set himself up in a large village at a spirit's shrine that was commonly used during religious pilgrimages. Whenever the humans had prayed or gave offerings, they were instead offering their hopes and dreams up to the lizard. And he had forged a focus to channel these requests from the humans unknowingly offering up parts of their souls to him. He'd in turn used these "gifts" to increase his own power by channeling the poor souls into his own youki. However, the power was false. When Sesshomaru had broken his magical focus, the link to the shrine had been severed. Without an anchor to hold them, the souls flew out of the demon, and returned with a grand flourish to their rightful owners. Upon realizing this, the demon had cowered and begged for mercy. While all the souls had escaped and he was left as a shadow of what he once was.

"Please my lord, have mercy!" He'd shouted while prostrating himself in front of Sesshomaru.

Sesshomaru had looked at him and thought for a moment before uttering, "I think not."

Sesshomaru had given him a quick and painless death, which the lizard of course did _not_ deserve. However, Sesshomaru was honorable if nothing else, and disapproved of useless suffering.

He was currently in the process of returning to the cat to tell her of his success. He'd barely bathed or eaten while on this vague quest, and he realized his appearance was somewhat lacking. He doubted if he'd even be recognized in his current state. The final battle had torn holes in his hakama and haori, and as he flew bits of his pristine white flesh peeked through. He'd have to get replacement clothes at the castle. He sighed, the request would likely come with a caveat. They always did.

He'd rinsed himself of all the lizard's blood and surprisingly enough, whatever goo that had held the final kugutsu's together had been rather sticky. He was unable to rid himself fully of its stickiness and his clothes clung to him in odd places and blew in the wind in others. With the holes in his clothing, and some even in his armor as well, he shuddered at what his mother or father would say at what he'd let his appearance devolve into. They were practical and proper above all else. He had already been traveling for a day, flying over mountains and forests, until finally he approached a large grey castle.

He was welcomed after several long stares, likely in confusion and then finally with nods from the guards. The guards were all cats of lesser standing, reminiscent of the animal they represented and he doubted any could take on a humanoid form. They were garbed in brightly colored armor, to which he couldn't fathom. He proceeded towards the main building of the castle where he'd originally learned the details of his quest. Though, before he could get more than a few paces towards his goal, a servant upon recognizing him, ushered him into a large room. He'd cast the guards a backward glance and shook his head, he couldn't understand the advantage of having guards dressed in bright oranges, reds and yellows. They'd be highly visible from great distances. It didn't matter to him of course, but the cats were his allies. It would be folly for his own soldiers to act as such; he'd have to discuss the matter with his father upon his return.

"I will call the lady, my lord. Please wait here for her arrival." The servant said before bowing and moving to close the shoji door behind him.

"While I wait bring me new clothes, mine have not survived your masters request." He said authoritatively.

Despite being an outsider to this castle, he knew that the servant would do as he asked. He was a well and respected lord and an ally to boot. Unsurprisingly she squeaked when he spoke and said, "Yes, of course my lord, right away," before she bowed out.

She returned not even a moment later with a brand new outfit. He wasn't too happy with the colors, but he supposed it would be rude to bite the hand that fed him – or rather clothed him. He accepted the robes and quickly dismissed the servant. She bowed out again as hastily as she'd come in and he looked at what she'd brought.

The clothes were finely made, he couldn't deny them that, it was what he'd expected as an ally and one who'd served their house for neigh on a year. What he hadn't anticipated was the implication his services would have. The kosode was white, plain but finely made and the hakama were equally fine and white like his previous pair, but his haori was a different story. It combined his chosen symbol – red sakura blossoms along with several smatterings of snowflakes or simple circles adorned in blue – clearly the chosen symbol of the lords daughter. He sighed; the cat clearly had other ideas on her mind than just ridding her land of pesky lizards. She had intentions towards him, which was not at all wanted nor was it accepted.

He thought twice about accepting the haori… but finally he decided that he'd rather walk around clothed than not. He begrudgingly put it on, throwing caution to the wind about what accepting such a gift could possibly mean. Clearly the haori was a request of binding their two houses together into one, with the eldest daughter. It was unspoken, but clearly stated and even accepted if he wore this upon his departure. He tended to stay clear of these political affairs, and yet, necessity required that he deal with this, lest he walk around nude from the waist up.

In the end he'd chosen vanity – to clothe himself rather than nudity. To hell with what it would mean in the cats' eyes. He just wanted a clean shirt. And he figured he could always make _his_ intentions known, much louder with words.

After dressing, he looked around and quirked his eyebrows. If the cats had been trying to impress him, they had failed. He was standing in an elaborately furnished room, obviously meant to impress. The room was filled with objects that showed of the cats' strength and prowess, their ability to conquer others and obtain worldly objects. There were several of these rooms back in his father's shiro, he knew what it was meant to do – impress unsuspecting guests. However, he was not so easily swayed by a bunch of talismans and artwork.

Nevertheless, he might as well indulge himself while he waited. He always did appreciate beauty, especially in many varied ways he'd never before seen. On the walls he found many different depictions of cats in battle, fighting against enemy's great and small. In one corner he came closer and examined a great battle of the entire cat tribe against the golden-haired monkeys. It was a triumph of battle cleverness that he'd heard of for several centuries, but still he looked on in amazement at the artist's detail.

The battle spanned an entire wall, and he remarked on the vast detail depicted in the work. It showed cats and monkeys on both sides of the battle locked in mortal combat, with several demons in mourning, and others conspiring in hidden corners, and several questioning their existence on a battlefield. He was still inspecting the artwork when she slid into the room.

"So, you've returned Sesshomaru." She said silkily.

He straightened and turned to face her, he hadn't realized he'd been so enveloped in the painting that he hadn't noticed her entrance. He looked over her form, she appeared to have dressed in haste, as her obi didn't exactly tie back her outfit, and in the front her kimono dipped low enough to show off cleavage. While he took in her form he tried to play off his lapse in concentration as cool and relaxed. He thought he succeeded quite well.

"The lizard is no more." Sesshomaru said blandly, though there was an unmistakable note of triumph in his voice.

"Really? I'd thought you'd given up, it'd been so long since we last heard from you." She said while slowly sauntering across the room towards him.

It was true, the last time that he'd sent word was several months ago. Nevertheless, he thought he'd been followed and limited communication, even to the ones who had essentially hired him for the job. Since he'd not known who to trust, he'd thought it was essential to his completion of said job.

While he was lost in thought he really looked at her. It was obvious from her behavior that she was trying to seduce him; her hips swayed in exaggerated movements as she walked. He groaned inwardly, he had spent the last year tracking prey. She looked entirely too good to pass up. But he knew better than that. To get entangled in her web was to become ensnared, and so he acted coyly despite all his body's physiological urges.

"You know as I do, he was using puppets Touran." He said evenly.

Touran stopped when she stood in front of him and leered at him from her diminutive height.

"Oh? And how did the great Sesshomaru finally finish him off, hmmm?" She said lightly touching his arm and getting far too close to him for his liking. When she'd all but pressed her bosom up against his body, he cleared his throat and took a purposeful step backwards. His body however, reacted favorably to her advances, despite what his brain was telling it to do.

'She's a vixen who will only cause trouble, cease and desist!' He told himself. Unfortunately, his body didn't listen to his brains own advice, and she seemed to notice his interest. She came closer to him, closing their distance by only a hair's breadth and it was then he decided to speak, before he was entirely too lost in loneliness and empty lust.

"He'd linked himself to the Ye Shrine. Every time some idiot gave an offering, he stole their soul and used them to give his puppets life." He said in a desperate attempt to distract her. Luckily enough, it worked.

That startled Touran visibly, he could tell. The Ye Shrine wasn't that far from her castle after all, less than a full day's journey by air. He smirked.

"Perhaps you should pay more attention to your lands, rather than toil away with frivolities." He said, gesturing to the room at large.

It seemed that he had hit a particularly sore note as her face visibly darkened for a moment, but she bounced back soon enough.

"Well, now that our business is at an end, perhaps, you'd like to accept payment for your services?" She said seductively, and while gesturing to herself, she reached for the ties to her kimono and began removing them.

"As if you could possibly be of equal status to this Sesshomaru." He said haughtily and turned his back on her, despite his body's protestations. He mastered himself and left her there with half her kimono ties undone and in her hands.

He didn't cast her a backward glance, but if he had, he would have seen the vicious glare she'd sent his way. Sesshomaru realized he'd probably not been very diplomatic, and had likely upset the woman more than he should have… but he was insulted.

The cat was no true match for him, and coming to her aid had been the work of an ally not that of a prospective mate. He'd spent a year toiling away in her lands, protecting them, and all she'd offered him as recompense was to spend a night in her bed. Well, it was likely to be more than a night if the unspoken union on his haori was any indication… Despite the fact that his body and brain were still at odds as to why exactly those were particularly poor terms, he nonetheless triumphed and succeeded in leaving the room with his dignity intact. He'd sate himself once he'd returned to his own lands, and rid himself of allies who were just as up-jumped in their advances as his enemies.

'Even outside of the courts, women can only think of political and social gains.' Sesshomaru thought as he purposefully left the shiro.

Yet, as he traveled back to the coast, he thought that this quest, while long, hadn't been a complete waste of time. He'd heard several more interesting rumors, and was more than happy to be getting back to Honshu to test their veracity.

Many of the rumors he was sure were complete nonsense, but they'd still amused him. Like how a courtesan had said that an island was swallowed up in an entire day and caked with a fine grey mist because Izanagi willed it. Or the fact that a serving girl had told him that a great 'beast' rose up out of the ocean and devoured an entire town on the eastern sea, and that every full moon, if anyone was on the coast, it would rise up again and claim the land, swallowing any in its path whole. Or the fact that a serving boy had said that great moths were planning to take over Honshu and had already decimated entire populations of humans and demons alike on Shikoku and Hokkaido. Humph, if _only_. A large moth force would be an interesting opponent indeed…

Sesshomaru had always considered the rumors he caught amongst his travels the most rewarding payment he could ask for. He set his sights on his next quest or adventure this way, based on those rumors. He figured that if he did, his power would never stagger or cease to grow, and as long as he kept testing himself, he would stay alive. Many times the scraps of stories were entirely exaggerated or just flatly fabrications, but he still liked to verify the rumors himself. If anything, it kept the ever-present boredom at bay.

By far the most intriguing rumor he'd heard on this trip had been from one of the court attendants, an old tiger, who was the cats' battle-master. He'd claimed that one of his previous pupils from Nihon had travelled in defiance of the twelve Deva's to the underworld itself, stolen Enmaten's staff and escaped. The staff was described to be extremely powerful, essentially bequeathing its holder the power of a demi-god. It was formed in the shape of a bo, and had the curved head of a woman along with the head of a man intertwined at one end. Its power was unknown but said to be immense.

What truly interested him about this weapon was where its power came from. It was said that only the truly wise and powerful could employ it, and that it's power came from within. Quite literally the staff gave its wielder control over life and death. While he had no particular care or wish to give life, he amused himself with the quest for the weapon. He'd gone on many of these so called 'quests for powerful objects' himself, but many turned out to be fabrications or over embellished tales. Still, he'd never been successful enough to receive a god's weapon for his troubles… It was an appealing prospect.

He'd decided to follow after the weapon and defeat its owner if he could. He'd tell his father of the story he'd heard and tell him of the weapon's power. He wasn't entirely familiar with Enmaten, he'd assumed he was only a Buddhist myth, like so many stories he'd heard. Yet, it sounded as if he came from the strange land to the west that contained elephants… Since he'd thought they were a myth until he'd finally seen them with his own eyes. He decided to study the god's supposed powers once he returned home…

Of course, he'd hope that his father would see the potential harm such a weapon could cause, especially if it fell into the wrong hands. But, that wasn't why Sesshomaru wanted it; it would be a true test of his skill. It would require power and strength to wield, and it would keep him far from court. Hopefully this new quest would keep him _very_ far from the court – preferably for longer than a year. He smirked at the new challenge and undertaking he'd assigned himself. Surely his father would listen to reason...?

He arrived at the eastern shore and released his youki with abandon and transformed into his true form. It felt wonderful to run this way, light and free. It'd been far too long that he'd spent on the mainland. He'd been trying to lay low, and hadn't transformed for months for fear of recognition. Now he reveled in the feeling. He loved the feel of ocean spray on his face and in his fur. He growled in pleasure as he took to the sky, running just above the crashing waves, like a toddler daring the waters to get him wet. He smiled and howled happily as he began the long flight home, ever eastwards.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **8 Sept 16 – edit – small edits and spelling error fixed.**

 **17 Jan 18 – edit – small edits and spelling fixed.**

So there it is, as always let me know what you think, I just thought I'd give you some background on what I wrote about several gaelic names, old irish folk tales, and Japanese lore.

Shell Flower (Molucca Balm) – called Molucella in old tongues of gaelic and welsh. – the Shell flower is a common bell flower in Ireland with an erect spire of green-bell with tiny yellow or white flowers inside the calyx or bell (Think flowers that look like a snapdragon but green). I just gave the faerie all of the flowers features. Typically faeries were demi-gods or divine eternal beings which could bless or curse you depending on how you treated them. Also, some faeries were flower-faeries, (NOT the typical winged pixie types that are in popular literature now) but were ethereal and god-like, and would bless a traveler if they paid particular homage to their flower, in this case, Molucella is a Shell flower (Molucca Balm).

Faerie folk of Ireland – the social faries were the sidhe, and this is listed in many notable works of poetry, oral and written traditions. Perhaps the most famous one, which calls them faeries, sidhe and living in the faerie mound, is Shakespeares Midsummer's Night Dream.

Enmaten - King of the Underworld; chief judge in the afterlife; when a person dies, s/he must appear before Enma (and also before other judges), who decides whether the person is good or bad; the person is then sent to the most appropriate afterworld; among the judges of hell, Enma is the most important.

Kinuko – female Japanese name meaning child of silk.

To answer a few of the reviewers questions:

I am a woman in my twenties whose been raped herself, so no, I am writing from both personal experience and fantasy. My life took many dark turns for the worst, but I think I've ended up okay on my feet, and I'm sure that my characters will too.

I did not get a shiny snorlax. At 75,000+ encounters I've decided to give up and just masuda method breed one. =P

Don't miss your chance to pick up Darkrai from Gamestop, you need a free card again to scratch off the code for your free Darkrai for your Pokemon ORAS or XY game.

Other news, I'll be entering into the Johto Masters cup if any of you are Pokemon Competitors.

Otherwise wish me luck, we're entering into finals, and I just finished a few last midterms and presentations. Its down to the wire now! =)

Happy May and happy reading!

Kajatk8


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Thanks to **Ariel-Mystic-Siren** for Beta-Reading!

 **Chapter 13. Chains for the Road**

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Ena had been surprised at the drastic change in circumstance. What a difference a week and a few arrows made…

She found herself sitting on her own beautiful horse, riding directly behind Nao. She traveled with him, almost as an equal. Regrettably, it was a complete façade. She was still bound, however, this time in chains, but she tried not to focus on that…

Her new trappings had been shackled to her wrists the morning following her triumph over the beetle. In between the shackles lay a length of chain about four feet long. It gave her the echo of free uninterrupted movement, but as soon as she tried to move regularly, she stumbled or tripped, knocking something over. She hated it, how its uneven weight brought her imprisonment to a new level. Now, she was clumsy. And don't even get her started on the continuous clinking. Everywhere she went, the sound of the chains followed, punctuating her every step with the sounds of imprisonment.

Still, she had her own horse to ride, which was a nice touch. It at least gave her a semblance of freedom, and lightened her heart. Plus, he was beautiful. She was uncertain she'd ever seen a steed with more grace than her white beauty. She'd decided she'd name him Ozuru, after the graceful stork and their peculiar mating dances and lithe movements.

The convoy had stayed in the sacked village for another week before leaving. This was done mainly to allow the men to heal from the severity of wounds they'd sustained. While many had received minor cuts or lacerations from taking the village, several were at death's door after the beetle's deadly attack.

When Ena had woken that first morning, following the attack she had been frog-marched into the smithy's hut. There he had sweatily hammered the shackles to her wrists, and after the final stroke, the smith had collapsed. Without a single thought, she jumped into action. She poked and prodded him in an attempt to find out what was wrong. It was just as stupid and foolhardy as her failed escape attempt had been, and the recesses of her mind had told her so. But, she had hoped that if she could get at least one of these men on her side, sympathetic to her imprisonment, then perhaps she could escape? Somewhere within she kept hearing the same advice: to bond with her tormentors.

And so, that is what she did. Amari, the smith, had taken a hoe in the leg, and he'd almost bled out from a stray villager's aim the night before. He'd bound the wound, but apparently not very well. Then before he'd had a chance to recover, he'd re-opened his wound when the beetle had attacked. A cart carrying several bales of rice had landed on him in all the chaos. Ena was amazed he hadn't been trodden on by a horse or eaten by the unruly beetle. Yet, despite all the odds, somehow he'd survived. Nevertheless, it had meant that his wound had been showered in dust, dirt, rice, blood and general tomfoolery. As such, the wound was inflamed a sharp pink, leaking puss, possessed a slight odor and Amari had a fever.

She'd immediately called for boiled water, clean bandages, and medicine, and to her complete surprise, the villagers and bandits alike had jumped at a chance to help the 'gift from the gods' living in their midst.

She'd cleaned the wound, drained what puss she could applied medicine and had bound Amari up in no time flat. She told the villagers to get him to drink small amounts of water upon waking and when he was feeling up to it to eat broth with a small amount of rice to settle his stomach, and help him regain his strength.

Without even thinking she'd found herself in a position of authority, doling out instructions. It had seemed so natural to her, and she filed that piece of information away for later use.

Of course news of her new abilities traveled fast, and she was then required to visit all of the bandits who were still alive, but just barely. She'd hoped that more of them had died, or suffered serious wounds at the hands of the beetle, but only three were in desperate straits, and ten required simple attentions.

After she'd finished with the bandits, they had allowed her to administer to the village. Here is where she spent most of her remaining week in the village. She'd wake locked away in her room in the mansion, eat, and then leave to administer aid where she could, giving comfort to those she couldn't. She would work from dawn until dusk, and then retire again to her prison in the mansion, eat and then pass out in a heap on her futon alone.

Wherever she went during the day, she felt Nao's presence follow, but she never laid eyes on him. Each night she went to bed in terror that he would come to her, but so far he hadn't. In fact he hadn't touched her at all after that first night. Somehow she'd developed the idea in her mind that she'd intrigued him, and he almost seemed sorrowed by his earlier actions. He gave her the impression that he was guilty or remorseful that he'd taken her in such a manner that first night.

But Ena didn't focus on that, if she ever escaped, she would deal with the consequences of his actions. She just prayed that she wasn't pregnant, that would be the last of her strength she knew. Since she couldn't remember the last time she'd bled, she counted every day, like it was her last.

Fortunately, the women had supplied her with herbs to prevent pregnancy. For that she had been extremely grateful, the women hadn't asked questions, but all had seen her trembling when Nao had cut her hair in the square. They supplied her with the herbs quickly, and quietly assured her of their potency.

Ena had kept what they were doing hushed up, but had quickly and quietly administered the same herbs to all the women they could find that had been violated by the bandits. She was grateful at their tact and expedience. At least no bastards, or _hopefully_ no bastards, she amended in her mind, would be forced into this village after they'd left. For that she thanked the Kami's gratefully.

Over the week that everyone recovered, she could tell that the men's opinions of her changed. The men didn't outright worship her, as the villagers had started doing, but they definitely changed. They spoke to her in calm tones, and the man who'd manhandled her before had been especially courteous. He offered her his meal, flowers or medicines he'd found — or whatever he had to hand. She of course, denied his advances, but she relished in the feeling of superiority. It was the only thing she had to herself, and she held onto it desperately.

She had almost fallen into a normal routine when one morning it was shattered. She woke up at dawn like normal, and hearing a knock on the door, expected to see Chou bringing her breakfast. She'd ambled to the door heavily, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, but instead when she'd slid the door open she came face to face with Nao, and his symmetrical black eyes. She'd looked down in fright, trying not to meet his gaze, and instead stared at his pointed black greaves.

"We will be leaving shortly, prepare yourself." He said.

She was startled, he'd sounded almost…cordial? That couldn't be… She dared to look up to his face and he seemed sincere. She quickly looked away.

"Alright, who will I be tied to this time?" She asked trying to keep her voice even, but failing. Her voice had cracked and she grimaced, she didn't want to appear weak in front of him. She'd already proved that she wasn't.

"No one, you will have your own horse."

If she'd been startled before, this almost knocked her off her feet.

"I'll what?" She thought she'd misheard him perhaps, because there was no way he'd just said what she thought she'd heard.

"The villagers are gifting you with their best horse; they say it is fit for a princess."

"I… uhh…" She stuttered not really knowing _how_ to respond or even what to say.

"You still have time, if you wanted to make a final round amongst the villagers," he said before he turned and left her there standing with her mouth agape.

She probably would have continued to stand there if it hadn't been for Chou wishing her a good morning and briskly shoving a tray of food in her hands.

It appeared that the villagers had outdone themselves at her farewell. Her breakfast was the size of a feast; she had several different dishes of pickled vegetables, onigiri for the road, chicken, eggs, and two different styles of rice. She wolfed everything down that she possibly could before she stashed the rest in a bundle of cloth.

She rose, clinking as she got to her feet awkwardly with the tray in one hand and her wrapped food in the other. The chains tended to throw her off balance with their heavy forward momentum. She hoped she would acclimate to their weight and at the same time, regretted the day when it would happen. To her, that would mean that she'd finally become accustomed to her imprisonment.

She found Chou at the end of the hall and handed him the empty tray. He nodded her off, and she left the mansion to see to the last of the villagers.

The children had been particularly heart-wrenching. Many of their mothers and fathers had been murdered by the convoy, or the beetle, ofttimes in front of them. Several were so young, they didn't understand what exactly had happened and kept asking her for their mothers, fathers, brothers or sisters.

A small five-year-old girl named Yuka had scraped by with only a cut on her wrist, but she was perhaps the most pathetic case. She constantly asked where her mother was, said that she'd just gone out for some rice from the stores and she'd be right back. Each time Ena spoke with her, Yuka was sure that her mother would be returning soon, and asked Ena if she'd seen her coming down the lane. Ena didn't have the heart to straighten out the girl after the first day of trying; Yuka had adamantly refused to believe that her mother wouldn't be returning.

When someone had brought up that Yuka's mother hadn't been seen since the beetle attack however, Ena again had tried again to make Yuka see reason, but, she vehemently refused.

"Mother said father didn't return, but she promised that she'd always return. _Always!_ She promised she wouldn't be like father." Yuka had cried.

Ena grabbed her in her arms and hugged the child tightly. She looked up at the circle of women who had gathered for Ena's last day of ministrations. She looked at one of the older women who'd said she'd take care of Yuka when they'd left. The older woman nodded, and Ena decided to cheer the girl up.

"Okay Yuka, she'll return, and when she does, you tell her what a good girl you've been for me, okay?" Ena said.

Yuka looked up at her, and her face broke into a wide smile that seemed to brighten the whole yard.

"Okay!" She said, and quickly scampered off. As the girl ran off to play with the other children, she started singing and soon all the other children had picked up the song as well.

"Ena, Ena, Princess Ena, Ena,  
She came and killed the beetle,  
She saved us all from evil.  
Ena, Ena, Princess Ena, Ena,  
She can heal, she can kill, she can eat,  
When she walks, everyone bows to her in the street.  
Ena, Ena, Princess Ena, Ena,  
Her arrows sing a pink song,  
And the leaves make her strong.  
Ena, Ena, Princess Ena, Ena,  
She's dressed up like a green fish,  
Plus, she can answer any wish,  
But, right now she looks really grimy,  
And they say she came from the Kami,  
Ena, Ena, Princess Ena, Ena."

Ena quirked her brows at the ridiculous tune, and looked questioningly at the woman to her right, who turned out to be, in fact, the Lord's wife, just as she'd thought. Her name was Ran.

"Just let her sing, it seems to distract her. And it keeps the other children busy as well." Ran said.

Ena nodded and smiled. She liked the idea of leaving this village with a song.

"Did Yuka make it up?" Ena asked.

Ran nodded, "Yes, some of the other children tried to make up different lyrics, but Yuka wouldn't have any of it."

"She has a beautiful voice, with a little coaching, she could make a living," Ena said.

"I will see what I can do," Ran reassured.

Ena smiled at the stubborn-headedness of youth, but then her smile fell, because she realized that likely, this would be the only time the girl sang out of joy or happiness.

Ran noticed her smile fade and she said, "Don't worry; I will take care of her along with Majime-baa-chan."

Both women nodded and the pain that had begun forming in Ena's heart subsided somewhat. At least they would try to help her. Perhaps Yuka would soon realize that her parents were gone, and weren't coming back. Maybe she would even survive the realization. Maybe she wouldn't starve, if these ladies took care of her and turned her life to one of song instead of heartbreak.

She moved onto the rest of the villagers, listening to the song sung in her name from the lips of a five-year-old. No matter where she went, the song followed. It seemed that this village would never forget what she'd done for them.

She was glad that she'd turned back from the hill and saved them all. She was a little ashamed of her few moments of doubt after she'd had her hair shorn off. She'd been crying for the loss and the damage done to her body and her continued imprisonment. In retrospect, it seemed such a frivolous thing to get worked up over, especially when these villagers had far more than that forcefully taken from them.

When she'd finished with the last villager, she walked back up to the mansion where the men were assembling to leave. As she went the villagers continued to bow in deference and thanked her for saving their village. All the while her song sounded here and there from children's and adult mouths alike.

She smiled.

When she rounded the corner of the last hut, she stopped short. There waiting for her was the band of men, and instead of hurrying her along, or even pushing and prodding her, they were just calmly standing around waiting for her to join them.

Perhaps even more strange, was the large white horse that was standing next to Nao's black one. The horse was gorgeous and its might and power seemed too waft off of it in waves.

"Your horse," Nao said, nodding to the white beauty.

She looked around to make sure that she wasn't just confused and he was actually talking to someone behind her. She found no one there. That meant that he was serious, and she didn't know what to do. Somehow she forced her feet to move, and her chain tinkled faintly as she ambled forwards.

Getting atop the horse was a little difficult with the shackles and chain weighing her down, and the horse didn't seem to like the clinking at first, but he allowed her to mount him, and eventually she ambled on. He was beautiful, and a breeze to ride. He seemed to want to lead himself, yet he complied to any command she gave him. She had the distinct feeling that she'd learned to ride, but didn't do it very often. But still, somewhere she almost felt a memory of riding a great beast, but not exactly that of a horse. Confused by her thoughts, she stored the details away for later.

She was surprised that Nao had in fact been true to his word and given her a horse. Just because the villagers wanted to give her one, she was sure that he could have just taken their intended gift and never let her know one way or the other. She mulled this over. He was trying to be almost… kind. Or so it seemed…

Ena didn't like it. Not one bit. She tried to work out his motives, but without further information, she couldn't.

And this is where she found herself hours later, still riding along in the convoy as it started to get darker. The day was relatively calm and decent. It wasn't too hot, or too cold, and if it wasn't for the dark clouds that were beginning to form in the distance, she would have thought it the perfect day for a picnic.

It was around when Ena was imagining who she would invite to this picnic and exactly what they would be feasting on when Nao spoke, and she jumped. He hadn't felt the need to speak to her in a week, bar that morning. Needless to say she was perplexed.

"You are a priestess." He said. It was a statement, and since she didn't know how to respond, she didn't.

"You are more than just that though, I've heard of priestesses, but I've never seen one battle." He said looking at her.

She still didn't know how to respond. What she'd done the week before… she didn't even think, she'd just responded and she was just as surprised as he was. She'd not really expected to survive if truth be told when the beetle had charged her. How could she explain such things to a monster such as Nao?

She chose not to respond, and waited for him to look away. She started feeling uncomfortable when he continued to stare at her.

"You truly are a gift from the gods, the villagers aptly named you." He said, finally looking forward.

She was proud despite where the praise was coming from.

"I know you don't wish to speak, but I think you will when we get to where we're going." He said, this time, with a glint in his eyes. Ena felt compelled to respond to this coy smile. She felt emboldened by his statement, and ventured to ask a question.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"To my castle." He replied simply, as if it explained everything.

"…Your castle…?" She inquired.

"Yes, there we will be married, and you will continue to join me in battle and conquest, protecting me from any unruly demons that want to get in our way. You shall see, we will be great, we will rule this land, you dominating the demons, me taking back the land that belongs to me," He said victorious. His face held a strange look, it was almost as if they had already conquered the country in his mind.

She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. She was loathe to egg on her supposed fiancé. She cringed at the term. She could think of no other she'd rather be promised to. Perhaps Daku… Unfortunately, he'd survived the beetles attack. He was perhaps the only person who scared her more than Nao did.

Nao startled her out of her internal musings by asking another question.

"How do your arrows work?" He inquired.

She didn't know what to say, so she remained silent. She was feeling exceedingly stupid the more time that went by, she was unable to answer the simplest of his questions.

"I don't know." She replied. She had quickly decided that honesty might be the best policy when dealing with Nao.

"Hrmmmm." He replied. "Your quiver always has fourteen arrows. I saw you pull several arrows and string them against your enemies. Yet, no matter how many you loose, you always have fourteen in your quiver. Do you know why?" He asked.

"No," she replied honestly.

"Huh. I doubt you would tell me, even if you knew."

"No I wouldn't." She replied defiantly.

"Did you know that no one can pull one of those arrows out either? Well… No one but you it seems." He said.

"No." She replied surprised.

She hadn't realized that. She wondered when she'd been relieved of her gear what was to happen to it. It appeared that Nao had let his men attempt to use its power. She was happy and felt more secure that she was the only one able to draw an arrow out, however. She'd suspected that there was something different about it, but she hadn't been able to put her finger on it. It seemed to her to quietly hum. She'd thought that it had its own heartbeat or a will of its own. But she had dismissed the idea as ridiculous for how it sounded to her. But, perhaps that was premature?

"Who gave it to you?" He asked.

She didn't know what to say again, so she remained silent.

"I know you didn't craft it yourself, I've seen plenty of demon blades in my time, and I can recognize the work of demon-craft. So, who gave it to you?" He asked, this time with an edge in his voice that worried Ena.

"A friend." She ventured, she must have gotten it from a friend, right? It seemed to acknowledge her, she had thought upon shouldering them that they were hers, or had been made for her. They just felt so familiar. And the fact that no one else could use them, just confirmed that they were meant for her.

"Will this friend wonder where you are?" He asked offhandedly, but the threat was clear and obvious. Would anyone powerful enough to make a demon-crafted quiver and bow come after them, perhaps looking for Ena?

"No." She replied. She wasn't sure of course, but she wanted to alleviate that tone from his voice. It didn't matter if she told the truth or lied, she just wanted to get him to stop asking questions. She knew that if he got angry enough, he'd do something to hurt her.

"And what of the father you spoke of?" He asked.

"He thinks I'm dead." She replied, voice devoid of emotion. Hopefully Nao would think it was because of some imagined fight between her and her father, not the fact that she was lying outright to avoid his scrutiny.

"Good, then there will be no objections." He said. He sounded smug, and when Ena cast her eyes at him, she found him smiling. This didn't bode well…

"Objections to what?" She ventured.

"Why, our marriage of course." This time he looked at her.

As he spoke those words, somewhere deep inside of her, something cracked. True fear, like ice cutting its way down her back. When she'd felt fear before, this time it paled in comparison to this new prospect. She would become his wife, and he was dead-serious. She doubted he would let her escape if she was his wife. She'd always be within his clutches if she allowed that to happen. Her mind was reeling.

She noticed that he was still looking at her and she tried to keep her face devoid of emotion, but failed, and by his response she could tell her face had rested where her emotions were – in absolute terror.

"Don't look so scared, you will want for nothing." He replied, brushing off her fears as if they were nothing.

"Why is that?" Her mind was spinning and she couldn't comprehend becoming this bastard's wife, not even for a moment.

"Because, you will live in the shiro, with my other wives. You'll find I take great care of what is mine."

For some reason, the fact that he already had a wife, not just one in fact, but multiple, brought her up short.

"You already have a wife…? Er… Wives?" She asked lamely.

"Of course, but none of them have your talents."

That information honestly didn't make her feel any better. In fact, in the event that she got to wherever they were going, it sounded like she would be just another to add to his harem. Yet, he already had special plans for her and she knew deep within herself that this would make her hated by his other wives.

"You will find that I can be a kind and noble husband, if my wife obeys." He said, likely in an attempt to rid her face of the pale pallor that had overtaken it.

"If you were indeed a noble man, you would court me in the proper way, and only when I've accepted you would we marry." She replied offhandedly, still deep in her thoughts.

"Very well, if you like."

"I…What?" She replied, taken aback.

"I will court you, and you will accept me." He replied, looking back to the road. "I have no doubt in my abilities to do so. You'll find yourself wanting me soon enough."

With that he confidently kicked his horse and trotted ahead of the convoy to scout the road before them.

Ena didn't know what to say or do, and she pulled Ozuru off to the side of the road to watch the convoy pass her and to think. She had been sure that he wouldn't agree to court her. In fact, she'd planned on him refusing her. Now, she'd have to deal with her _rapist_ courting her. Taking her for long walks, presenting her gifts, perhaps even currying favor with her father, whom she was pretty sure she'd made up!?

She tried to think fast, but it wasn't fast enough, not for Daku. The end of the convoy came into her sight and Daku pulled his horse right up alongside hers. The large brown mare whined and sniffed at Ozuru, before calming and kicking at the ground.

She didn't want him to think she was attempting to escape, but she was curious as to all the men that Nao had in his entourage, why had it been Daku that had stopped?

"I'm to see you to the Shiro in one piece. Don't make me it difficult for me." Daku said evilly.

"I wouldn't dream of it." Ena replied, and kicked Ozuru into gear. Daku kicked his mare as well, and took up a slow pace alongside her.

Ena looked out of the corner of her eye at the man. He frightened her perhaps even more than Nao did. He just oozed evil and malice with every breath he took in.

"Why were you given the duty of my protection?" She dared to ask.

"Because, Nao trusts me, much more than the rest. Plus, he knows once I take on a job, I will see it to the end." He replied.

"What will be your payment?" Ena thought to ask, thinking back to the village and Daku's 'payment' of the youngest headman's daughter. The girl had been but a child, yet, Daku had still taken her.

"Well, he said that if you try to escape, then I get to have you for a night." He said licking his lips, and as he did so he looked her up and down as if he could possess her with just his eyes.

Ena saw the threat and understood it for what it was. If she were to attempt escape again, if she were caught, she would be given over to this animal for punishment. So, that made what she would have to do very clear. If she were to _actually_ escape, and _truly_ gain her freedom this time, she'd have to make sure that both Nao _and_ Daku couldn't follow.

"Personally, I hope that you try the moment you get the chance." He said smiling, "I have a wonderful night planned for us."

"I think I'll pass, I wouldn't want to spurn my intended after all." Ena said, and kicked her horse faster to pass Daku. She couldn't stand the thought of riding next to him, any more than she could stand the thought of being Nao's arm candy, intended, priestess-in-his-pocket, whatever. She couldn't stand it.

So that left her one option, escape. But this time, she'd have to make it permanent. This time, she might have to kill Nao and Daku, to ensure that she didn't fall right back into their hands.

She didn't like this plan at all. She wasn't sure because she didn't know her own mind, but she thought she could put a pretty hefty bet on the table that she'd never killed anyone before. She didn't want to start now.

Yet, as she cantered up to the front of the convoy once more, to 'her rightful place,' or so Nao had claimed, she knew that it might be required of her. She wasn't sure what was worse, becoming a bride to her rapist and captor or becoming a murder. She truly didn't know.

* * *

 **A/N:**

Sorry this took so long to write. This summer I took an internship, on top of that, I had NO TIME to write. Then, before you know it, a new semester started and I now have a roommate! A girl I work with is separating from her husband, and I took her in. Turns out he was been abusing her, so my life has been slightly complicated. =\ Ahh well, what's life without lemons exactly? No lemonade or avgolemeno, lemon drop martinis…. So… not worth living.

Please read and review,

Thanks,

KajatK8


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

* * *

 **Chapter 14. Hairpins and Promises**

Sesshomaru was exhausted by the time he had finally made it across the sea and landed. He shook off the moisture of the sea spray from his coat that had settled during his run. He was tired after running across the sea, joints and muscles aching, but this journey had taken more out of him than usual. Though it wasn't nearly as vast as some of the oceans he'd traveled with his father, he wasn't that accomplished when it came to the full uses of his power. He'd been protected for much of his life – sheltered by his father, but no longer. He sat back on his haunches a moment, to rest and take in the scenery.

The ocean spray was crashing against the rocks to his left, and the gentle caress of the waves that crashed on this isolated beach slowly made their way to his paws. He backed up, not wanting to get soaked any further in his weakened state. He was reminded of a special day he'd shared with his father when he was a puppy.

His father had brought him to a desolate sacred beach, entirely secluded on all sides by rock faces. They'd flown in, and his father had taught him how to hunt along the oceanside. All day, he'd attempted to root out vermin, rodents and the occasional gull. After feasting on his spoils and napping for a time; his father tricked him into a false sense of security. When he woke up, he was completely soaked, spluttering and held upside down in the ocean by his legs. After seeking revenge, (which rapidly digressed into attempting to dunk his father, which failed spectacularly,) his father was just as soaked as he was. Their training had quickly devolved into a game of keep away from the water.

He remembered that that time had been one of peace. New alliances had been made and war had been the furthest thing from his father's mind. To celebrate this newfound peace and his birth, his father had taken him far from their home. He'd encouraged his son to hunt on his own, use his instincts, and never, ever underestimate his opponent; even if they'd shared a meal, or held a tentative peace between them.

Odd, how sound the advice was even now, though he suspected that had been the lesson.

The cats had come to him with their tails between their legs and begged for help, yet when he'd offered assistance, they'd tried to secure an engagement out of him. How two-faced cats could be. Conniving and sly. That'd been one of his lessons he knew, but he'd never expect the audacity of them to go ahead and make the overture. It seemed so beneath him, and them.

One doesn't marry those who cannot take care of themselves, or control their own borders. Such things did not make for a good and secure truce, treaty or any sort of stable bond of reacher's were not tolerated.

He heard a few loud calls of children off in the distance and turned to see a group of them running in wild abandon straight at him. While it amused him, he'd rather avoid their notice. It wasn't that he was frightened of mere children, but he didn't want to ruin his peace of mind or rest, by them either. So, instead, he slowly got up, and jumped over to a rock face. He laid down, using the shadows to hide himself from their view.

The first one to the waves was a little boy, obviously the eldest of the group. He threw his hands down on a large rock and proudly announced himself the winner and Prince of the Beach for beating them all.

"No fair!" A girl just a little bit shorter than 'the Prince' said. "You're older and taller than all of us, _and_ you cheated! You started before you said go!" She jeered at him, holding a stitch in her side.

"Not all is fair in this world! So Papa says!" Shouted back the Prince of the Beach.

The little girl stuck out her tongue at him, and the rest of the children finally touched their hands down on the rock as well, then doubled over, clearly out of breath.

"Don't fight Shika-san, please?" A smaller boy said, hiding behind his hands and shuffling his feet.

"I won't if he won't," the girl responded. "Besides, _he_ started it."

The smaller boy looked mildly appeased, and smiled back at the girl.

"Bet I can beat you to the water! 1 – 2 – GO!" The prince said, again jumping ahead of everyone.

"HEY!" The girl called out, and began running into the water, with the rest of the children following suit.

Sesshomaru watched their antics for quite some time. The so called "Prince" was quite the trickster himself, and frequently cheated so he could be first. The older girl called him on it repeatedly, and usually the deciding vote was the smaller more demure boy who'd originally asked them not to fight.

Where were these children's parents anyways? When Sesshomaru had been small, no one would just let him go gallivanting around and causing trouble. Indeed, if he'd tried to get away with half the little Prince was getting away with, someone would have bit his ears. However, he didn't interfere. If these children were to learn anything, it was that they'd have only themselves to rely on, and they would have to work out their difficulties amongst themselves. That was the one lesson he'd learned early on, rely only on yourself and you will not be disappointed.

He felt downright lethargic from his expenditure of his youki and was rather content watching them. Soon they'd started up a game of "don't touch the water," with the incoming waves. The game was just as he'd done moments before they'd arrived and back with his father in his youth. He wondered if all children played the same games when they were little, demon and human-kind alike. Though he doubted that human children played as ruthlessly as demons did.

Though the spot he'd found himself in wasn't very… dignified – spying on children, he'd been content to watch them from afar. As he was watched them, he found himself lapsing into nostalgia again. He hadn't thought about his childhood in a very long time, ever since Molucella. He'd blacked out most of the happy times from before her, because loathe as he was to admit it, they were too painful to think upon. However, hidden from these children, but listening to their games and laughter, he let his mind wander and think upon the time he'd spent so blissfully ignorant in his youth. He eventually curled up and fell asleep, exhausted but ever so content.

He supposed the ocean crossing had tired him out more than he'd originally thought. He had not before fallen asleep in the open in that manner, without at least setting a guard or checking his whereabouts thoroughly. He realized he had not truly had a decent meal since before finding the lizard, and then the grueling trek back to the Cats' Shiro… and being stubborn and not accepting of help, food or warmth from the Cats'. He'd left after receiving his new garb. Thinking back on it now, that had been a rather stupid mistake. He was this side of famished and bone-tired.

Of course, like most mistakes, he came to this realization far too late. Deep in his subconscious he felt a dark jyaki rising up, approaching his position with malice. When he woke sometime later, it was to the children's shrill screams. However, unlike in the games they had been playing, these screams were not of joy, but of terror. Sesshomaru's senses were thrown into overdrive and he threw out his aura to find what was amiss. He sat up and scanned the horizon, but was surprised to find that it was from the sea that the danger lay.

A gigantic monster rose up from the sea and was growling, shouting and putting on quite a show for the children… or so it appeared. The children had not known that Sesshomaru was hiding behind the rocks, yet, this monster sure did. This show was for Sesshomaru alone.

In its grasp was the girl Sesshomaru had watched harassing the self-styled Prince, Shika. The monster appeared to be a combination of a water dragon, an Oni, and common seaweed. It was covered in the mottled green plant, and as it moved, golden-green scales could be seen below the overlying kelp. Its head was grotesquely large, oddly shaped and covered in bright yellow spikes. Two dark brown horns protruded in a recurved manner down its cheeks and curved upwards just at its mouth. Where the arms met the body, its chest was overly large and looked like to topple over. Its lower body thinned out like that of a dragon, with timid stunted legs. The tail was that of a large lizard, pointed and dangerously covered in sharp yellow spikes. Sesshomaru had never seen a creature quite so ugly before. For a moment he just marveled at it, while it was hideous, it was also breathtaking. Never had he heard of an Oni interbreeding with the dragon clans. Oni tended to be… not stupid… well, yes, stupid... dim-witted, slow. They were not overly bright if one was being kind in their description. However, the dragons were exceptionally intelligent. Many were the elements made flesh, and lived for millennia, some even longer lived than the longest lived youkai.

And yet, this wasn't the time for speculations into the beast's parentage. He would have taken more time to just observe the creature if he wasn't required to take action. This abomination, for lack of a better word was attacking subjects on his land. He doubted that the children knew to whom they owed fealty, but that didn't prevent him from his duty as the lord's son.

He sighed. If he had just gone on home, and kept running, instead of letting his exhaustion overwhelm him, he might never have stopped and witnessed these children. And if he hadn't stopped, this dragon-oni might never have chosen this spot to attack. But alas, here he was. He'd watched them from afar, and he'd admired the children's spirits. And now, he felt compelled to assist them, but he did not imagine that the girl would survive the monster's clutches. He couldn't see an opportune way to attack that didn't place her in jeopardy.

With this realization firmly in place, Sesshomaru had decided his plan of attack. It wasn't just the girl's life that he'd fight for, but one of his own subject's. And this dragon was on _his_ lands. Although, now that he thought about it, he wasn't particularly sure it was his land. He had assumed that it was, attempting to retrace his path across the sea to where he had landed in his mind. He had made this journey many times with his father, but never alone. Still, it made no matter, even if it wasn't his land. It seemed like a good fight. He'd like to pit himself against such a large beast. Aside from training sessions he'd never really seen how he'd handle a fight against such a foe, much less in his true form.

The children had run unknowingly towards him and were cowering in some rocks at the base of the cliff he was shadowed behind. Sesshomaru was contemplating what to do about the matter as the children were yelling Shika's name out and calling for help, for their mothers, for the Kami themselves to save them. Though none seemed to be forthcoming.

While contemplating his next move, the water abomination addressed him.

"Ahhhh Dog! You've come! Care to see what I've done to your lands? Come, I'll show you, just as soon as I've had a tasty snack!"

"These are not your lands," Sesshomaru growled out, as he rose from his hiding place. In his dog throated voice and to human ears however, his words just came out as growls and barks. Yet, it was obvious from the stance the water abomination took, he'd understood.

The children screamed ever more in terror as they didn't comprehend the dragon-speech or take kindly to the appearance of a rather large white dog in their midst. And he doubted if any of them even had an inkling that he spoke the Inu-language. Yet, it was apparent that they were more terrified than they had been a moment before he'd revealed himself. Half of them were gawking at him, the other half screaming for Shika still. One of the children just kept repeating "Save us." All in all they were terribly distracting, as they were limiting one of his many senses with their constant exclamations.

"These lands belonged to the sea long before you were ever born MUTT!" The Dragon-Oni screeched. His voice was clearly meant to be heard underwater, and the sounds that he produced didn't sound quite right. His voice was accented and guttural in all the wrong places.

"Return to the sea, or you will not like the consequences." Sesshomaru replied, as an afterthought he said, "and release the girl as well, unharmed."

"I've been raiding for months now, and won't be deterred by you." The Abomination replied.

"Very well," Sesshomaru replied, preparing to lunge.

The water abomination rose up out of the sea a few more feet, moved the girl in his arms and tossed her into the air. It seemed that he'd intended to swallow the girl whole by the way he angled his head back, expecting a quick snack before the battle began. Shika screamed the entire time, pausing only to draw in breath and continue her shrieking.

He wasn't too interested in the girl's life, she was nothing to him. But he wouldn't suffer an abomination to inflict damage on his lands. He swiftly leapt into the air and stole the girl away before the Dragon-Oni could swallow her whole. Quick as a flash he reached out and grabbed the girl in his mouth, his hands were not an option—transformed as they were into claws, and he wasn't sure she wouldn't just roll right off his back if he'd angled it beneath her. He bit down ever so gently, making sure not to pierce flesh. She squeaked when he clasped her, but didn't cry out, which had surprised him.

While in the air, he angled his back legs into the creature and kicked hard – right to the creature's mouth. The resounding wet thwack was satisfying, however, also belatedly painful. He learned this when he jumped off the dragon; angling back to shore to deposit the girl. Lowering his head he set her down gently, and she let out a very small thank-you that was almost a whisper before he turned back to his opponent.

"Take your companions and leave." He said to the girl mid-turn, who continued to stare at him. Too late he realized she probably had no idea what he'd said. But some things aren't lost in translation, for she ran like a demon was chasing her. She scurried back to her friends and the relative safety on the shore. A pain lanced through him, as he became aware that the paw that had kicked the dragon had one of the spikes that surrounded the dragons face deeply lodged in it.

"Never turn your back against an enemy," his father's voice echoed briefly through his mind from their many sparring sessions.

He turned swiftly and barely dodged a swipe at his unguarded back. It was at that moment that he learned he was not alone. Somehow, this strange beast had followers—or offspring, it mattered not. They'd picked this moment to make themselves known and two beasts sprang up from either side of him within the water and attempted to jump onto his back.

He easily dodged and turned to the closer opponent – this one happened to be on his right. He struck out with a claw and took off its head in one fell swoop. However, he received more spikes to his other paw in recompense. The head slowly rolled off – almost comically, and the body shook before it crashed to the ground motionless.

The offspring to his left let out an anguished cry for its fallen brethren and let loose an incredible wave of shouki as it lunged forwards. The miasma covered the ground and split his senses between what was there and what wasn't. Utterly unprepared for being thrown into semi-blindness and with no scent to follow, he dodged the offspring's initial swipe to prevent its progress. Unknowingly he found himself put off balance. The offspring used his unsure footing to its advantage and charged straight into his flank. It mauled him with a tusk and Sesshomaru threw his body left and right to throw it off.

"You'll pay for what you did to my sister, you beast." The younger Oni shrieked. Sesshomaru from his tired mind couldn't really process much from the statement or the attack except that he'd killed a female. He wasn't sure if it was a good or bad, he couldn't tell from voice or appearance if the remaining young Oni was a male or a female. In the end he decided it was a good thing, because he wasn't filth such as theirs and swung out with another paw. This time his left hit the body of the younger Oni who had spoken, and again he received another spike.

The Elder in the sea decided that this was time to strike and Sesshomaru only just managed to dodge the blow angled for his head. He let the wind and water wash over him from the missed blow and re-evaluated his opponent. For whatever reason, the Elder Dragon-Oni hadn't removed himself from the water, yet, it had let its offspring attack from land. But the Elder had also swiped away most of the cloud of shouki, and he temporarily gained back his senses. He reached out with his aura and he could feel the younger offspring circling him, evaluating the best place of attack.

The younger Oni jumped out to the right, and swung with claws in a deadly arc left, right, left again, meanwhile Sesshomaru dodged them all. It wasn't difficult, while their bodies were extremely armored with spikes, they were slower than he'd expect, once able to sense them properly of course. A true dragon would have been able to overcome him in his weakened state, but these half-bred hybrids weren't standing a chance.

He jumped back further inland to re-assess his opponent. The blow he'd made to the younger Oni's body had only been glancing, and was barely a scratch. He laid in wait and again prepared for the attack. The younger Oni rounded on him and shrieked, "Be still and die!"

Again it came at him, left, right, left, this time its tusk and tail swung together bringing another shouki cloud, and almost got him, almost. The shouki cloud would have been his own undoing, except, he'd started to pick up on the Oni's patterns, which unfortunately spelled its demise. He rounded his opponent, jumping back again and feinted to the right. His opponent jumped left, and then started up right, left, right, but on the last swing, Sesshomaru anticipating the younger Oni's movements swatted left. He caught an outstretched arm and body off-kilter used the Oni's momentum against itself flipping his opponent so that it crashed down. The Oni's face and upper body shoved in the sand with a heavy paw firmly in its lower back keeping it there, in place, his prey. He reached down towards the exposed neck and back and bit down delicately. He tightened his jaws and muttered "Same to you," as he severed the Oni's spine in one clean snap.

The abomination – likely parent, he promptly realized, roared from the water and came at him. It moved faster than he thought would be expected seeing that it was half out of the ocean and half in it. Water dragons were only fast in water, not on land. And Oni were brutishly strong on land, but somewhat slow in accuracy and in water. But this odd combination of the species was both, brutish in strength and quick. He would need to be careful if he was going to win this fight.

The Water Dragon threw his body weight behind the missed slash with a claw and brought his tail sailing around to deliver a spiked blow. Sesshomaru jumped over the tail turned flail. His legs ached at the movement, and Sesshomaru immediately realized his folly, he'd been poisoned. The spikes he'd been receiving throughout the fight must be laced with a type of toxin, he could feel it burning through his toes, his side, his flank – and the faster he moved the faster the poison would spread. The abomination finished his spin and dove underwater. Not taking the bait Sesshomaru, laid in wait assessing his own damages. He wasn't foolish enough to attempt to fight where only a dragon would be on sure footing. He crouched and laid a trap for the Abomination.

Calm as ever, he waited for his opponent to make its move. He didn't have to wait long as it erupted from the water to his left and charged at him, completely free of the ocean. He leapt as well, but at the last moment spun out of reach of the Abomination's claws and stretched around to bite its neck. He landed on its back and dug in with teeth and claws, clenching and tearing as hard as he could. The abomination hissed and screeched at the pain and swiftly retreated back into the sea. At the first sound of impact with water and resounding splash, Sesshomaru took a deep breath.

It was clear that the Abomination meant to drown him, but he had no intention of dying. He could feel them sinking, delving deeper and deeper into the dark waters of the ocean. He grasped the neck even tighter and tore. Water and blood alike flowed into his mouth, and he tasted copper and the acrid scent of the underlying toxin. Yet, he dared not take a breath or release his prey. In a last and mighty attempt to throw him, the spiked tail came up and thrashing backwards and forwards hit him on his left and then his right flanks. One of his final thrashings got him in the face and he doubled his efforts to wrench the neck from the Abominations body.

'Just a little bit more' he thought desperately.

And then with surprising ease the Abominations head came half off and his vision was blocked temporarily by the streaming blood from the wound. He shut his eyes quickly for fear of the pestilence that resided in the blood. The body under his claws jumped and lurched this way and that, but slowly those movements ceased. Only when he'd felt the beast still completely, did he release it, and start the slow ascension to the sky above, and delicious, _glorious_ air.

He saw light above, but it looked so far away, and he was getting desperate. Vaguely he recalled that as they'd descended his ears had popped, but he wasn't sure when in the descent that had been. He also wasn't sure how much longer he could hold his breath. His vision started to darken around the edges and he pushed his muscles far past what they were able to do. This fight had been foolish especially without food and rest for days on end. Why had he jumped into this fight, to defend the beach? He couldn't recall why he'd done it. His foot ached and he could feel the poison slowing his movements, making it harder to kick his legs.

'Don't open your mouth, don't open your mouth, you'll die if you open your mouth, don't open your mouth!' A voice in his mind kept working to keep his mouth closed despite wanting to open it and shout for help.

He began to think that hope was lost and he would just drown in the sea, unknown to his parents if he'd even completed his mission on the Mainland. They wouldn't have known how he'd died. There might even be a war if he didn't surface; his father easily believing that the neko's had killed him. What folly. But it wasn't his parents finding out his demise that gave him pause, it was the fact that he'd accomplished so little that pushed him forward. When his father was the same age, he'd already defeated several Taiyoukai and earned a name for himself. Even worse than that – than the comparison to his father, which he continually lived in the shadow of – was the dishonor that he'd been defeated. And what a defeat it would be. It wouldn't be the wounds that would kill him, if his body was ever found, it would be drowning. The first Inu-youkai to have drowned.

That couldn't happen, he willed himself to live. To breathe. To _not_ drown.

Why had he saved the wretched human girl anyhow? She was young and stupid enough to get grabbed up by a demon, she probably wouldn't last long before the next demon gobbled her up.

Was this hell? Had he already died and now was in hell, this slow feeble ascension? This slow moving trial? Would he even notice if he did die? He could hear his heart beating, over and over it went. Hammering on desperately. But he wasn't breathing. He had to breathe. One usually breathed. Shouldn't he as well?

'Do not open your mouth, you will die if you open your mouth, do not open your mouth!' That voice again, this time in a total panic instead of sound prudent advice.

He didn't know how much longer he kept swimming or if he would ever surface. The world had faded around him down to that small circle of light above. He thought it had been getting brighter, but since his vision continued to darken, he wasn't sure. He kept focusing on that far ring of light above. It was his lifeline, and he couldn't let go. When he thought he would lose consciousness and drown, he threw out a burst of youki, the last of his reserves. He hoped it would push himself up and out, but as he did so everything faded around him. Made murky by the blood-soaked water and he couldn't recall anything anymore.

* * *

He awoke abruptly, as if from a nightmare. Walls had been closing in all around him, swallowing him up until there was no room left to move. All the while he was lost – unable to breathe or free himself. He sat up abruptly gasping and grasping for his heart.

He was surrounded by small little bodies with little faces but the ability to focus on them evaded him. Some of them were wet, soaked through to their kimonos, others were dry and stared at him aghast. He didn't recognize them. None of them seemed familiar, and he was confused as to what they were doing. He was also confused as to where he was. His quick return to an upright position had them scattered and jumping back, shouting exclamations.

"Away with you," he said, verbally lashing out in his confusion.

"He's awake!" One of the faces gasped, jumping backwards.

"He's not a large dog anymore, do you think he's a demon?" Said another stepping closer to peer at him.

"Mother said always to stay away from demons!" Said another.

"We shouldn't be here, we should go back." And another.

"Told you he wasn't dead, Shika!" And another.

"I didn't think he was, but I was afraid he might be." Shika responded.

He looked them all over, why had they not fled? Especially if he had reverted to his Taiyoukai form. He dimly realized that he was on the beach and the fight was slowly coming back to him. The overwhelming scents of salt, drying out kelp and dead rotten meat clung to him and wouldn't let him go. He found himself not far from where he'd fought the Abomination. The two corpses of the offspring were on the beach, lying motionless. However, the tide was rapidly taking back the beach, and with it their bodies. If left unmoved, they would be reclaimed before his very eyes.

He however, was rather far from shore, and when he glimpsed the shoreline, he followed the drag marks from his position out to sea. The children had plucked him out of the water and dragged him away from the incoming tide. He wasn't sure what he should feel. Gratitude?

Timidly a girl approached and bowed down before him. "Thank you very much Inu-Gami for saving my life, I am forever in your debt."

He looked her over for a moment, she was not quite in focus. The poison must still be affecting him. She was dressed as a commoner, but she had nicer clothes than the rest did, though she was soaked through to her skin. Her hair had at one point been expertly styled with an ornamental hairpin, but now cock-eyed and worse for wear after being grasped by demons, tossed around and slobbered on. She looked like a drenched, defeated little mouse. He was surprised to see the hairpin still dangling onto a few remaining up-done locks.

As if she could follow his trail of thought she reached up and ripped the ornament from her hair and pressed it into his hands. "I can never repay you for what you did to me, but please take this as a token for my life."

"It was nothing," he said as he rose, uncomfortable with her gratitude and such a feminine object being thrust upon his person. He tried to give it back to her, but he was stopped short when he realized a wound on his arm was open and bleeding. It hadn't fully healed. By the time he turned to give her back the ornamental pin, she had already bowed and run off. The remaining children took her hasty exit as their cue to leave as well, and without a backwards glance he found himself alone.

Still weakened and trying to hide the pain from his face that lanced through his body as he stood, he watched the children flee. He did not relish his long trek back to his own shiro. With these injuries, the castle would seem even further away.

There was no real reason to hide his weakness. No one remained on the beach, and the children were not like to turn around and watch, but one never knew who was watching. A passing demon might have seen the fight and thought him easy pickings. So his expression remained that of his usual courtly mask. Internally however, he was in a vast amount of pain.

He assessed his wounds, none had healed. That worried him. There were several to his arms, legs, his right side and the one on his left flank was still bleeding rather profusely. He raised a hand up to his cheek to wipe off the sweat that was beading, and instead came away with blood. That was odd, he thought. He didn't really remember being struck in the face. All the more reason to leave this place and seek a healer. He wiped the sand off and shrugged. Most came off in a heap, but some still clung to him. He glimpsed the children again, and started to walk away.

"Wait!" One of the little girl's yelled after him, he suspected it was the one who'd given him the pin. He looked towards the group and found that the children had stopped just at the edge of a path that led away from the sea. He wasn't sure how to respond, so he remained silent.

"Will you come back and protect us?" The girl Shika yelled after him.

He paused and looked back at the children. They were all huddled around Shika, whispering amongst themselves. Some were pulling her back, imploring her not to ask such things of a demon, a monster, a great dog god. He was slightly amused by this, and flattered despite their humanly nature.

"Perhaps."

With that, he turned and continued to walk away. He walked until he was far from the children and the beach. Until he couldn't smell the sea or salt or feel the ocean breeze on his skin. He realized he still held the pin, and looked at it. It was plain, but clearly well cared for and well-made. Whatever the reason, he decided to keep it and pocketed the item.

He stopped and assessed his surroundings. He had thought his crossing had taken him further north, but it turned out he was in the southern-most part of his father's lands. He slowly started to recognize landmarks, and using the wind to guide him, oriented himself towards the long trek home. He estimated that the trip would take three days. He briefly wished he had crossed further north. He silently cursed his father for sheltering him so. But, what was done is done, and now all he could do was walk.

He could not remember how much time had passed when the familiar tree-line of the eastern forest slowly came into view. He continued to walk and almost found himself hoping to see the mountains to the north and smell the valley to the south that would denote the halfway point home.

His senses were dimmed. And then he realized why, he felt the poison slowing him down, slowing his heart and dulling his senses. He disliked the way his senses were lying to him, he could see a water mass in front of him, but couldn't tell if it was Awaumi or not. He sniffed the air, it was unclear if the air held the smell of salt. There were many birds in evidence, but he was unsure if it was in the multitudes that Awaumi typically drew to its waters.

He was not sure how long he spent standing there sniffing, but he watched the sun sink below the horizon. Once darkness started to descend, he realized his folly, and shook himself out of his reverie. He looked towards the stars and scented the wind. The wind was lying, but the stars would not. He oriented himself and kept walking.

The sun rose and he continued his onerous gait to his ancestral home. He couldn't tell what time of day it was or if he was even still going in the right direction now that the stars had hidden themselves. The flight and fight had taken much out of him, and he despised his slow pace. He would have preferred to transform and run there, but he lacked the strength. He also realized that he was still bleeding from several of his wounds.

It was odd, he may have been poisoned, but then he also took a deep dive into the ocean. The water should have cleaned out his wounds, and allowed them to close. They definitely should have closed up by _now_ , he reasoned. At least he thought they should have. He could have sworn that he'd seen the sun sink below the horizon and rise again. Or was that just a dream? He worried how much damage the poison had done to him, and if he would be permanently damaged if he did not return home. He had to see the healers. Talk to father… Tell him what had happened and that the shores were not safe.

He continued to walk and dimly felt like he had been walking all his life. That could not possibly be true, he reasoned, but he felt like it was. He thought that the sun sank again below the horizon, but his eyesight had darkened so much that it was impossible to say for sure. He glanced at the sky, trying to make out the constellations. They just looked like blurs filling the night sky.

He kept walking forwards, hoping that it was the right direction.

A brief moment of lucidity allowed him to hope. He longed for a long soak in the hot springs, a peaceful slumber, and a good meal. But he was smarter than that. He knew that after being gone for a year, there would be much to catch up on. He'd need to know how his mother and father fared, and how their kingdom was. He'd barely heard any news of the West while he'd been on the Mainland. That didn't bother him, he'd been undercover essentially, hiding out to take out his target. But, he still wanted to know what had happened in the months since he'd been gone.

Oh, and of course, his wounds would have to be seen to. He would have to be healed. Could not forget about that. Cannot have the heir to his father's lands dying for no damn good reason. He grimaced as the thought became more and more likely.

As he kept walking he began to think that his hopes would not come to fruition. He thought he had watched another sunset, but he could not trust his senses anymore. It seemed that daylight and darkness took on the same level of brightness, and he _knew_ , somewhere in his mind _knew_ that…that, that piece of information was false. He looked down and realized he could barely lift his arms. However, upon looking down, he realized he was still bleeding quite profusely and leaving a small blood trail in his wake. Well that was not very smart.

"I would agree Pup," someone said directly in front of him. His senses for what they were worth went into high alert. But unfortunately, try as he might, he couldn't determine the voice's location or even gender.

"Not very smart at all."

He tried to squint to see who had approached him, be they friend or foe, but instead fell promptly into darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: duh duh duh. Wonder who that could be…?**

 **For those of you still reading this, wow, you're great, thanks for the support. And sorry for the hiatus. Long story short: Shit happened, medical issues and then depression! Didn't feel like writing until the story spoke to me again and I felt motivated. It also didn't help that I'd lost the original outline for this story. But I've pieced it together, so hopefully you'll still like it!**

Awaumi – Now called Lake Biwa – is the Largest freshwater lake in Japan, in west central Honshu, near Kyoto (Heian-kyo).

Oni – from the show cannon – are fairly slow, and dim-witted.

Dragon – from show cannon – seem like beasts of burden or like Ryūkotsusei, smart but large. I'd rather pull the dragons in this story I'm writing from actual Japanese legends.


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